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Pliotographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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Qi 


m 


W.r 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


^^  ! 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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0 


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1 


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'"-: 


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Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqud  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

I 

. 

12X 

16X 

20X 

24X 

Z8X 

32X 

ilaire 
s  details 
ques  du 
It  modifier 
[iger  une 
le  filmage 


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g6n6rosit6  de: 

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conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


|u6es 


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or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^»-  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


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originaux  sont  film6s  en  commengant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'imir session  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


aire 


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different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
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required  The  fallowing  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film6s  6  des  taux  de  r6duction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  filmd  6  partir 
de  I'angle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  6  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


by  errata 
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lent 

une  pelure, 

fapon  d 


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2 

3 

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3 

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Fellow  Travellers 


A  Personally  Conducted  JounNEr 
IN  Three  Continents,  with  Impres- 
sions OF   Men,   Thinos  and   F-vents 


BY 


/ 


Rev.  Francis  E.  Clark,  D.D. 

President  of  the  World's  Christian 
Endeavor  Union 


New  York      CiqpAGO      Toronto 

Fleming   H.  ^vdl   Company 

M  DCCC  XCVIII 


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■n*'W"tawiwiiaj 


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Fellow  Travellers 


A  Personally  Conducted  Journey 
IN  Three  Continents,  with  Impres- 
sions OF  Men,  Things  and  Events 


BY     J 

Rev.  Francis  E.  Clark,  D.D. 

President  of  the  World's  Christian 
Endeavor  Union 


H 


New  York      Oiy:AGo      Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Qj^v-^U   Cdmpany 

M  DCCC  XCVIII 


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t>:r/2 


Copyright,  1898 

BY 

Flbhimo  H.  Rbtkll  Compamv 


' 


TWO  COPIES  RECEIVED. 


2ntJ  C^^. 
1390. 


r  'TTk*^?7'^^3^7^iT>*^^^ 


To  My  Dear  Friends  and  Co-workers 


JOHN   WILLIS  BAER 
WILLIAM  SHAW 

AMD 

AMOS    R.   WELLS 


WHOSE     FAITHFULNESS,     EARNESTNESS    AND    WISDOM     IN 

CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR    AT    HOME, 

MADE  POSSIBLE  MY  JOURNEY   FOR  CHRISTIAN 

ENDEAVOR   IN  LANDS        AR, 

THIS    VOLUME    IS    AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED. 


Kcstsssasaaa 


Contents 


OHAFTXa 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 
XIV. 


XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 


PAGB 

By  Way  of  Intboduction 9 

Thk  Battle  of  thk  Clouds 13 

conl'sbning  mobal  mountain -climbing  20 

Thk  Land  of  William  Tkll      ....  24 

A  LBSSON  FBOM  THE  JUNQFBAU    ....      30 

Chbibtian  Endeavob  in  Switzebland  ,    34 
Good   News  Concebnino   Kbistna   En- 
deavoubfobeninoabnab 38 

CONCEBMNQ  MUCH  WaNDKBINQ  IN  MANY 

Lands 42 

Fbedebick  Bbot^ebton  Meyeb      ...    46 
The  Ploughman  Poet— 1796-1896    ...    53 
Thbee  Thousand  2fiLES  in  Gebmany     .    60 
Two   Famous   Gehmans   in   the   Class- 
boom   ^ 

Some  Things  in  Gebmany  Worth  Copy- 
ing       73 

Naples  by  Night 78 

The   Oldest    and   the   Youngest;   ob, 
Chbistian  Endeavob  in  the  Land  of 

THE  Pybamids 85 

A   Univbbsity   Whbbe    "The    Sun    Do 

Move" 88 

Concebnino  Many  Things  on  Sea  and 
Shobb 96 

A  PLAGUB-STBICkBN  CiTY 100 

Concbbning  a  Delightful  Expebience  115 

A  QuEEB  Hospital 120 

Hebe  and  Tubbb  in  India 127 

Chbistian  Endeavob  in  Histobio  India  132 
6 


IL_ 


6  Contents 

CHAPTRB  p^g. 

XXII.   A  Chbistian  Endbatob  Mkkting  in 

THE  Taj  Mahal 137 

XXIII.  Chbistiak  Endeavob  on  thk  Oanqbs  144 

XXIV.  An  Houb  on  the  Ganges     ....  148 
XXV.    The  Famine  at  Shobt  Banoe      .    .  154 

XXVI.     BOCKED  ON  THE  BOSOU  OF  THE  GANQES      161 

XXVII.    A  M18810NAEY  Mecca lee 

XXVIII.     CONCKBNINa   A  UNIQUE  AND  MEHOBA- 

BLE  Convention 171 

XXIX.   The    Bono    of   the   Mubdebeb   of 

Thibty 179 

XXX.    A  Long  Fobwabd  Step 185 

XXXI.    In  the  Southebn  Ehpibe    ....  189 

XXXII.     SWAMI  ViVEKANANDA    UPON  HiS  NA- 
TIVE Heath 194 

.XXXIII.   OuB  Sixty  Days  in  India  ....  199 

XXXIV.    A  Sky  Pilot  on  a  Coolie  Ship    .    .  205 
XXXV.    Twenty-three   Days   at   Sea    and 

Some  Beflbctions    ......  212 

XXXVI.    Afbica  at  Last 217 

XXXVII.    The  Afbican  at  Home 229 

XXXVIII.    The  Two  Bepublics  of  the  South- 
ebn Cross «J29 

XXXIX,    A  Call  on  "Oom  Paul"     ....  244 

XL.    In  the  Obangb  Fbke  State     ...  251 

XLI.    How  Bishop  Taylor  Bead  the  Bible  256 

XLII.   The  World's  Great  Diamond  Vault  261 

XLIII.   Unto  the  Thibo  and  Foubth  Gen- 

EBATION 272 

XLIV.   Last  Days  in  South  Afbica  ...    284 


...,.M*-.<-..»iF;»«i^.:",.^i|,i^ 


List  of  Illustrations 


The  Taj  Mahal Frontisfieee 


On  the  Riffelberg 

A  Sheikh  of  the  Desert     .    .    .    . 

A  Burning  Ghat 

Marble  Screen  in  Palace  in  Delhi. 
Some  of  Dr.  Clark's  Snap-shots  .    . 

A  Scene  in  India     

An  African  Kraal 


Facing  page  1 6 

86  *" 

132  i-^ 

163  ^ 


Runaway  Kraal  Girls  in  a  Mission 
School  


190 


93a 


353 


^ 


•  iTirnmi nriiMn^i '   • '" ■' — ^ i- v v&  \yt 


By  Way  of  Introduction  1 1 

Chrittian  Endeavor  World,  in  which  many  of 
these  chapters  originally  appeared,  the  North 
American  Review,  the  American  Review  of  Re- 
viewt,  Lippincott's  Magazine,  the  Temple  Maga- 
zine of  London,  the  New  York  Independent, 
the  Sunday  School  Times,  the  Congregational- 
t$t,  and  Christian  Work,  for  permission  to  use 
in  book  form  articles  which  were'  printed  in 
their  pages. 


-"TWTTItlMrilJIim'r*''*'**— *"•'"*'"•"**""'■""''"   '  ""^  i.v..f„ri-iu-r.-ii«.-a- 


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Fellow  Travellers 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  OIOUDS 

Mt  first  chapter  shall  not  describe  the  oft- 
related  journey  across  the  seas,  the  embarka- 
tion or  the  landing  of  the  voyagers  bound  on 
this  new  pilgrimage,  neither  wilt  it  describe 
certain  Christian  Endeavor  meetings  and  greet- 
ings in  Paris  and  elsewhere  that  occupied  the 
beginning  of  the  journey ;  but  it  will  take  my 
readers  directly  to  the  heart  of  Switzerland, 
where  we  will  enjoy  a  bit  of  Alpine  scenery 
and  a  breath  of  vacation  ozone,  before  under- 
taking the  more  serious  purposes  and  duties 
that  await  us  furthe;;  on. 

One  of  our  memorable  experiences  was  on 
the  Rififelberg  in  a  tempest.  Let  me  attempt 
to  describe  it. 

Who  has  not  laughed  over  Mark  Twain's 
exceedingly  funny  take-off  of  the  dilettante 
Swiss  tourists  who  climb  the  Alps  (all  that 
can  be  climbed  by  the  funicular  and  rack-and- 
pinion  railways)  with  tall  silk  hats,  dress  suits, 
and  Saratoga  trunks  ? 

18 


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You  remember  he  started  up  the  Riffelberg, 
resolved  to  do  or  die,  with  a  huge  retinue,  in 
which  were  sixteen  barkeepers,  two  Latinists, 
and  one  chaplain,  if  I  remember  correctly. 

The  expedition  got  lost,  and  a  long  rope  was 
tied  to  one  of  the  guides,  who  was  sent  off  to 
find  the  path.  But  he  got  tired  of  his  job, 
hitched  the  rope  to  a  ram,  and  went  back  to 
Zermatt.  Various  other  adventures  befell  this 
expedition,  all  told  in  Mark's  inimitable  way. 

But  the  Riffelberg  lias  been  able  to  stand  all 
this  ridicule.  It  does  not  hide  its  undimin- 
ished head,  except  occasionally  behind  a  bank 
of  clouds ;  and  every  year  it  attracts  increasing 
crowds  of  tourists  ^wo-thirds  of  whom,  at  least, 
I  suppose,  chuckle  in  half  a  dozen  different  lan- 
guages (if  it  is  possible  to  chuckle  in  different 
languages)  over  the  humorist's  chaff,  as  they  go 
puffing  up  the  pine-clad  hill,  on  which  it  would 
be  about  as  easy  to  get  lost  as  for  a  farmer's 
boy  to  lose  himself  in  going  from  the  back  door 
to  the  old  well-sweep  behind  the  barn. 

One  day  in  the  holiday  season,  three  Ameri- 
cans might  have  been  seen  about  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  starting  out  from  Zermatt,  with 
stout  alpenstocks  and  their  inevitable  Baedeker. 
They  had  been  anxiously  scanning  the  clouds 
and  studying  the  mercury,  and,  though  both 
insisted  on  going  down,  the  one  over  the  high- 
est mountain  peaks,  and  the  other  below  "  Vari- 


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The  Battle  of  the  Clouds 


»5 


Riffelberg, 
retinue,  in 

Latiiiists, 
rectly. 
g  rope  was 
sent  off  to 
af  his  job, 
it  back  to 
befell  this 
ible  way. 
o  stand  all 
i  undimin- 
Ind  a  bank 
increasing 
ni,  at  least, 
GFerent  lan- 
n  different 
as  they  go 
h  it  would 
a  farmer's 

back  door 
fi. 

ree  Ameri- 
jht  o'clock 
'matt,  with 
Baedeker, 
the  clouds 
ough  both 
r  the  high- 
low  "  Vari- 


able "  in  the  barometer  tube,  they  determined 
to  start. 

The  Matterhorn,  to  be  sure,  persistently  kept 
on  his  cap  of  clouds;  most  impolitely,  consider- 
ing tlie  many  tourists  that  hud  come  to  do  him 
reverence  that  day.  Monte  Rosa  was  tipped 
with  a  cloud  fleck,  too,  or  rather,  wore  around 
her  neck  a  gauzy  scarf,  such  us,  I  believe,  ladies 
used  very  appropriately  to  cull  a  "cloud,"  while 
her  silvery  head  peered  out  above,  radiant  in 
the  sunlight.  This  was  discouraging,  but  the 
Breithorn  shone  resplendent  without  a  cloud 
on  her  vast  white  bosom ;  the  Weisshorn,  too, 
was  visible  from  head  to  heels ;  Castor  and  Pol- 
lux, like  two  gigantic  good-natured  twins  (each 
rising  to  an  altitude  of  about  thirteen  thousand 
feet),  beckoned  us  on;  mighty  Lysskamm  prom- 
ised a  good  day ;  and  so  we  started. 

In  spite  of  Mark  Twain's  chaff,  the  Riffelalp 
is  a  very  respectable  hill,  even  for  Switiserland. 
Up,  up,  we  climbed,  the  zigzags  ever  growing 
steeper  and  stonier,  and  the  views  ever  more 
magnificent  as  each  turn  revealed  some  new 
glory.  But  always  the  Lion  of  Zerniatt,  the 
mighty  Matterhorn,  was  in  our  eye.  We  could 
not  get  away  from  it.  Turn  which  way  we 
would,  it  seemed  to  dominate  the  landscape. 
Like  a  mighty  cathedral  tower,  fifteen  thou- 
sand feet  high,  built  by  God  of  solid  rock,  we 
could  seem  to  feel  its  presence,  even  when  wo 


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Fellow  Travellers 


did  not  actually  see  it ;  and  the  higher  we  won 
our  way  up  the  Riflfelberg,  the  more  stupendous 
aud  majestic  grew  that  mighty  mass  of  rock  and 

snow. 

We  made  our  way  past  the  old  church  where 
are  buried  two  of  the  rash  climbers  who  first 
tried  in  1866  to  learn  the  secrets  of  the  Matter- 
horn,  over  the  bridge  that  spans  the  roaring 
Visp  just  set  free  from  the  icy  fetters  of  the 
glacier,  through  the  woods  of  spruce  and  hard 
pine,  until,  after  two  hours  of  tolerably  hard 
climbing,  we  came  to  the  Riffelalp  hotel,  one  of 
the  splendid  hostelries  that  the  canny  Swiss 
have  planted  on  every  coign  of  vantage  in  their 
picturesque  domain. 

We  press  on  more  rapidly,  for  the  clouds  are 
coming  down  lower  and  lower  on  Mount  Cervin, 
as  the  French  call  the  Matterhorn.  Not  only 
his  head,  but  his  shoulders,  his  trunk,  his  hips, 
are  covered  now.  Even  the  lower  peaks  put 
on  their  hoods ;  the  wind  rises  and  howls  around 
our  defenceless  heads,  as  if  it  would  blow  us 
from  the  insecure  ledge  of  rock  around  which 
we  are  trying  to  make  our  way,  for  we  are  far 
above  the  tree-line  now.  The  rain  begins  to 
patter  down ;  and,  as  we  get  higher,  it  turns  to 
pellets  of  hail,  which  cut  our  faces  and  hands 
like  minute  bullets  shot  from  an  invisible  cata- 
pult. But  here  we  are  at  last,  just  as  the 
storm  begins  in  good  earnest,  at  the  Ri£Felhaus, 


•>■  ''gwwiiiaiiBuii'i'j:-'-.:^ 


The  Battle  of  the  Cloud& 


>7 


another  famous  hotel,  and  one  of  the  highest 
ill  all  the  Alps.  Most  grateful,  too,  is  the  warm 
fire  and  good  cheer  within. 

From  behind  the  ample  vestibule,  screened 
by  glnss  on  all  sides,  we  watch  the  gathering 
tempest.  Great,  billowy  masses  of  storm-laden 
clouds  sweep  up  from  the  Zermatt  valley  on  the 
one  side,  and  from  the  Zmutt  valley  on  the  other, 
while  down  from  every  titanic  mountain  peak 
other  battalions  of  clouds  rush  to  meet  them. 
The  Matterhorn  wholly  disappears  from  view  ; 
Monte  Rosa  vanishes  behind  her  veil ;  even 
white  breasted  Breithorn,  nearest  of  all,  is  sud- 
denly blotted  out,  as  if  it  had  never  existed. 
All  the  world  is  without  form  and  void.  Chaos 
reigns  supreme. 

Louder  and  louder   the  demons  of  the  air 
howl  and  shriek  around  us,  but  we  can  laugh 
at  them  behind  the  thick  walls  of  our  stone  for- 
tress.   They  cannot  make  it  quiver.     The  rains 
descend  and  the  floods  come,  and  they  beat  upon 
that  house;  but  it  falls  not.     Then  the  snow 
drives  down  from  the  top  of  the  highest  Alps, 
where  it  has  its  perpetual  home.    A  whitish 
tinge  is  given  to  the  sombre  cloud,  and  unfor- 
tunate tourists,  who   had  set  out  for  distant 
peaks  before  the  storm  arose,  begin  to  straggle 
into  the  hotel  by  twos  and  threes,  their  faces 
reddened  and  parboiled  by  the  snowy  blast,  and 
their  black  coats  covered  with  nature's  ermine. 


,..i 


■ 


\% 


18 


Fellow  Travellers 


Thus  for  four  hours  the  storm  rages,  each 
moment  moie  furious,  and  the  cloud  in  which 
we  are  wrapped  grows  denssr  and  blacker; 
when,  look  !  look  !  by  some  invisible  hand,  in  a 
single  instant  of  time,  quicker  than  on  a  mimid 
stage  a  curtain  could  be  lifted,  the  cloud  cur- 
tain is  rolled  away,  and  in  majestic  splendor 
the  Matterhorn  and  all  his  magnificent  brethren 
of  Valais  shine  out  flawless,  speckless,  immac- 
ulately grand.  Below  surge  the  baffled  clouds, 
which  the  north  wind  is  driving  before  him, 
filling  the  valleys,  piling  thick  and  deep  upon 
the  Gorner  Glacier  below. 

At  once  we  start  for  the  Gorner  Grat,  a 
rocky,  snow-bound  peak  two  hours*  climb  above 
the  Riffelberg,  a  peak  more  than  ten  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea.  A  little  one,  indeed,  is  the 
Gorner  Grat  among  the  thousands  of  Switzer- 
land, bat  it  lifts  its  modest  head  in  the  very 
centre  of  the  mightiest  mountains  of  Europe, 
and  looks  them  all  in  the  eye. 

As  we  climb  the  snowy,  toilsome  steep,  we 
witness  many  a  battle  between  the  north  wind 
and  the  sulky  clouds,  which  refuse  to  give  up, 
beaten.  Every  few  minutes  they  return  to  the 
attack,  and  apparently  sweep  all  before  them. 
One  minute,  we  are  standing  in  brilliant  sun- 
light ;  the  next,  in  impenetrable  fog  so  dense 
and  dark  that  we  almost  fear  we  shall  lose  the 
path.    Then  the  next  moment  the  north  wind 


'^—Mi 


^mm 


The  Battle  of  the  Clouds 


19 


ages,  each 
I  in  which 
blacker ; 
hand, in  a 
n  a  miniid 
cloud  cur- 
!  splendor 
t  brethren 
BS,  im  mac- 
led  clouds, 
efore  him, 
deep  upon 

Br  Grat,  a 
limb  above 
I  thousand 
eed,  is  the 
if  Switzer- 
n  the  very 
}f  Europe, 


**  Cometh  and  cleanseth  them,"  and  all  is  sweet 
and  clear  again. 

Perhaps  the  most  beautiful  sight  of  all  was 
when  the  wind  began  to  gain  the  mastery,  and 
the  highest  peaks,  crowned  with  sunlight,  would 
peer  above  the  clouds,  enormously  exaggerated, 
and  looking  fifty  thousand,  instead  of  fifteen 
thousand,  feet  high,  seeming  to  hang  and  topple 
over  us,  almost  from  the  zenith  itself. 

But  old  Boreas  wins  the  day  in  the  end; 
gloomily  and  sulkily  the  clouds  retire  ;  and,  by 
the  time  we  reach  the  top  of  the  Goriier  Grat, 
every  glorious  peak  in  the  magnificent  circle, 
from  the  knife-edge  of  the  Matterhorn's  sum- 
mit, clear  around  the  horizon  to  the  Matterhorn 
again,  stands  out  sharp  and  brilliant  as  when 
first  from  the  chisel  of  the  great  Sculptor.  It 
was  a  magnificent  battle,  and  we  are  thankful 
that  it  was  our  good  fortune  to  witness  it. 


steep,  we 
lorth  wind 
to  give  up, 
turn  to  the 
fore  them, 
illiant  sun- 
)g  so  dense 
nil  lose  the 
north  wind 


1' 


II 


CCNOBENING  MORAL  MOUNTAIN-CLIMBING 

Let  me  take  a  text  from  the  great  mountains 
that,  as  I  write,  hem  me  in  on  every  side.  Be- 
fore me,  as  I  look  ouv  of  the  window  in  Mon- 
treux,  are  the  rugged,  ragged  peaks  of  the 
Savoy  Alps ;  behind  loom  up  the  Rochers  de 
Naye  and  symmetrical  Jaman,  while  off  to  the 
right,  his  head  buried  in  the  clouds,  are  the  vast, 
snow)'  shoulders  of  the  Dent  du  Midi. 

But,  like  a  good  many  other  preachers,  I  am 
going  to  leave  my  text  as  soon  as  I  can,  taking 
it,  as  the  fashion  often  is,  for  a  point  of  de- 
parture alone.  While  these  giant  mountain 
peaks  are  beautiful  to  look  upon,  and  magnifi- 
cently imposing  in  their  proportions,  they  are 
far  from  desirable  places  to  make  one's  home, 
and  I  would  rather  end  my  life  amid  the  lesser 
glories  and  tamer  scenery  of  Oshkosh  or  Kala- 
mazoo or  Auburndale  than  amid  these  snow- 
clad,  lofty  heights. 

So  I  think  it  is — to  leave  my  text  and  get 
down  to  my  homily — with  our  every-day  lives. 
A  great  deal  more  depends  upon  what  we  deem 
dull,  commonplace,  and  prosaic  than  upon  the 
occasional  lofty  mountains  of  achievement.    In 

80 


Mil 


mmm 


Moral  Mountain-Climbing  21 


LIMBING 

mountains 
side.  Be- 
iw  in  Mon- 
iks  of  the 
lochers  de 
)  off  to  the 
re  the  vast, 
li. 

3hers,  I  am 
san, taking 
}int  of  de- 
mountain 
id  magnifi- 
s,  they  are 
me's  home, 
1  the  lesser 
sh  or  Kala- 
hese  snow- 

xt  and  get 
(r-day  lives, 
at  we  deem 
I  upon  the 
ement.    In 


fact,  I  doubt  whether  in  the  moral  world  there 
are  any  startling  Alpine  heights  to  be  climbed 
in  a  single  journey.  Our  daily  ascent  is  more 
like  our  journey  across  the  Nebraska  prairies 
and  the  Colorado  plains  from  the  Missouri 
River  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  We  are  going 
up  hill  all  the  way,  but  so  gradually  that  we  do 
not  know  it  until  at  last  we  stand  five  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea,  under  the  very  shadow  of 
Pike's  Peak  itself. 

So  every  duty  done,  every  act  of  kindness 
rendered,  takes  us  one  step  up  the  hill,  an  in- 
appreciable step,  perhaps,  a  monotonous,  weary 
sort  of  a  step  oftentimes,  but  yet  a  step  that 
leads  to  real  heights  of  moral  grandeur. 

I  was  especially  impressed  with  this  thought 
recently  while  reading  a  book  of  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson's  entitled  "  Across  the  Plains."  It 
is  a  description,  in  his  own  inimitable  style,  of 
a  journey  taken  in  an  emigrant  train  across 
America  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  the  early  days  of 
his  poverty  and  obscurity.  In  those  days  (it 
was  nearly  thirty  years  ago)  the  horrors  of  an 
uncomfortable,  hard-seated,  ill-smelling  emi- 
grant train  to  a  sick  and  sensitive  man  must 
have  been  almost  unendurable.  I  am  sorry  to 
find  that  he  remarks  more  than  once,  for  I  fear 
there  is  more  truth  in  it  than  we  could  wish, 
"Civility  is  the  main  comfort  you  miss  in  Amer- 
ica."   But  among  all  the  boorish  passengers 


I 


I! 


1:1 


I       i 


22 


Fellow  Travellers 


and  snappish  conductors  and  rude  brakemen  (le 
found  one  newsboy  who  sweetened  and  light- 
ened the  journey  by  innumerable  little  acts  of 
kindness.  This  is  the  way  in  which  he  has  im- 
mortalized the  cheery  face  and  kindly  deeds  of 
that  unknown  newsboy: — 

The  lad  who  rode  with  us  in  this  capacity 
from  Ogden  to  Sacramento  made  himself  the 
friend  of  all,  and  helped  us  with  attention,  as- 
sistance, and  a  kind  countenance.  He  told  us 
when  and  where  we  should  have  our  meals  and 
how  long  the  train  would  stop,  kept  seats  at 
table  for  those  who  were  delayed,  and  watched 
that  we  should  neither  be  left  behind  nor  un- 
duly hurried.  You  M'ho  live  at  ease  at  homo 
can  hardly  realize  the  greatness  of  this  service, 
even  had  it  stood  alone.  When  I  think  of  that 
lad  coming  and  going,  train  after  train,  with 
his  briglit  face  and  civil  words,  I  see  how  easily 
a  good  man  may  become  a  benefactor  of  his 
kind.  Perhaps  he  is  discontented  with  himself, 
perhaps  troubled  with  ambition.  Why,  if  he 
but  knew  it,  he  is  a  hero  of  the  old  Greek 
stamp  ;  and,  while  he  thinks  he  is  only  earning 
a  profit  of  a  few  cents,  he  is  doing  a  man's  work 
and  bettering  the  world. 


H 


In  a  Christian  Endeavor  meeting  in  Paris, 
the  testimony  that  touched  my  heart  the  most 
was  that  of  a  young  lady,  who  told  us  how, 
when  she  first  spoke  for  her  Master  in  an  En- 
deavor meeting,  hesitating  and  trembling  and 


^■n 


akemen  he 
and  light- 
tie  acts  of 
he  has  im- 
y  deeds  of 


9  capacity 
raself  the 
ention,  as- 
He  told  us 
meals  and 
t  seats  at 
d  watched 
id  nor  un- 
)  at  home 
lis  service, 
nk  of  that 
rain,  with 
liow  easily 
tor  of  his 
rh  himself, 
hy,  if  he 
>ld  Greek 
ty  earning 
tan's  work 


in  Paris, 
;  the  most 
.  us  how, 
in  an  En- 
bling  and 


Moral  Mountain-Climbing  23 

afraid  of  her  own  voice,  as  she  sat  down,  a  little 
girl  by  her  side,  who  knew  of  her  bashfulness, 
reached  over  and  took  her  hand  with  a  com- 
forting S'  jueeze.  She  said  no  word,  but  that 
gesture  told  of  the  little  girl's  love  and  sym- 
pathy. It  was  one  of  the  steps  that  uncon- 
sciously led  two  souls  up  the  table-lands  and 
into  the  sunlight  of  God's  presence. 

But  what  is  our  whole  system  of  Christian 
Endeavor  if  it  is  not  a  series  of  unconscious 
steps  up  invisible  mountains?  The  prayer 
meetings,  in  a  sense,  are  routine  affairs;  ful- 
filling the  pledge,  in  our  discouraged  moments, 
may  seem  like  a  perfunctory  obligation;  the 
committees,  like  the  lifeless  parts  of  a  machine ; 
but  one  great  object  of  the  Society  is  to  form 
habits  of  well-doing,  habits  of  confession,  of  de- 
votion, of  service. 

Walking  itself,  after  a  while,  becomes  an  ui- 
conscious  act,  and  moral  hill-climbing  an  un- 
conscious habit. 

After  all,  one  does  not  very  often  set  out  to 
climb  the  Alps;  and,  when  he  gets  upon  a 
snow-clad,  cloud  capped  mountain,  he  very 
soon  has  to  come  down  again.  But  from  these 
gentle  slopes  of  every-day  duty  and  gentleness 
and  kindness  there  need  be  no  return.  This  is 
the  best  kind  of  mountain-climbing,  for  these 
steps  lead  one  at  last  to  the  top,  and  into  the 
very  presence  of  God. 


I': 


i  ! 


I 

if 


H 


III 


THE  LAND  OF  WILLIAM  TELL 

It  is  strange  that  a  dead  hero  can  dominate 
for  many  centuries  the  land  of  his  adventures. 
But  so  it  is.  France,  I  imagine,  for  hundreds 
of  years  to  come  will  be  Napoleon's  land; 
Sweden  will  be  the  kingdom  of  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  whoever  the  reigning  sovereign  may 
be  ;  and  Mexico  will  alwaj's  be  the  province  of 
the  brave  Hidalgo. 

But  that  a  land  should  be  ruled  by  the  mem- 
ory of  a  man  that  never  existed,  should  be 
dominated  by  a  mythological  character,  as,  the 
authorities  say,  was  William  Tell,  is  stranger 
still.  Yet  it  is  true  that  the  chief  interest, 
apart  from  the  natural  scenery,  that  attaches 
to  the  Vierwaldstattersee,  the  loveliest  lake  in 
the  world,  perhaps,  .*s  due  to  the  supposed  ad- 
ventures of  a  man  that  did  not  live,  did  not 
slay  the  tyrant  Gessler,  or  shcot  the  apple 
from  his  brave  boy's  head.  It  is  a  tribute  to 
the  matchless  genius  of  Schiller,  and  shows 
how  abiding  an  influence  even  a  tradition  of  a 
great  and  noble  life  exerts. 

The  romantic  story  of  William  Tell  adds  just 
84 


H 


The  Land  of  William  Tell 


25 


an  dominate 
adventures, 
'or  hundreds 
[eon's  land; 
>f  Gustavus 
vereign  may 
(  province  of 

by  the  mem- 
,  should  be 
icter,  as,  the 
,  is  stranger 
lief  interest, 
hat  attaches 
sliest  lake  in 
supposed  ad- 
live,  did  not 
t  the  apple 
a  tribute  to 
,  and  shows 
I'adition  of  a 

'ell  adds  just 


the  element  of  heroic  adventure  that  this 
charming  lake  and  country  of  the  Four  Forest 
Cantons  of  Switzerland  need  to  complete  their 
charms. 

At  the  head  of  the  lake  frowns  Pilatus,  grim 
and  jugged  as  of  yore,  when,  according  to  the 
tradition,  Pilate  fled  hither  to  wash  his  ac- 
cursed liands  free  of  their  stains  of  blood.  When 
he  found  he  could  not  do  this,  he  threw  him- 
self despairing  into  the  dark  and  gloomy  lake 
near  the  mountain's  top.  Further  down  the 
lake,  much-climbed  Rigi,  robbed  of  its  mystic 
terrors,  if  it  ever  had  any,  by  the  two  linris  of 
railway  that  ascend  and  take  to  its  summit 
ceaseless  crowds  of  tourists,  raises  its  precipi- 
tous cliffs  six  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  while 
on  the  other  side  of  the  lake  the  village  of 
Stanz,  with  the  Stauzerhorn  towering  above, 
marks  the  exploits  of  Winkelried. 

But  all  the  lower  end  of  the  lake,  where  the 
cantons  of  Uri,  Schwytz,  and  Unterwalden 
come  together,  is,  beyond  all  others,  Tell's 
country.  Whether  we  sail  down  the  winding 
lake,  with  the  frowning  cliffs,  some  of  them 
snow-clad,  towering  overhead,  and  almost  meet- 
ing above  us  in  places,  or  travel  over  the  mag- 
nificent roads  that  border  the  lake,  and  are 
frequently  cut  out  of  the  solid  mountain  wall 
of  rock,  the  excursion  is  equally  charming  by 
land  or  water. 


26 


Fellow  Travellers 


Many  of  the  quaint,  low-browed  hoasea,  like 
Stauffacher's  in  TeH'tt  time,  are 

"  Emblazoned  with  painted  shields  of  arms, 
And  words  of  wisdom  which  the  traveller 
Sojourning  reads  and  marvels  at  their  meaning." 

Nothing  that  can  add  picturesque  charm  to 
the  scene  is  wanting.  On  the  right  side  of  the 
lake,  as  you  go  toward  Fiuellen,  high  up  on  the 
hillside,  is  Rutli,  where  the  clans  cuuie  together 
to  plan  freedom  for  Switzerland  and  death  to 
Austria's  tyrannical  power.  On  every  side  in 
the  springtime  flow  little  waterfalls, 

"  The  glacier  milk 
Which  from  the  fissures  trickles  foaming  down." 

Near  Rutli  is  a  huge  rock  rising  eighty  feet 
out  of  the  lake,  a  natural  monument,  which  has 
most  appropriately  buen  dedicated  to  Schiller 
and  carved  with  his  name  in  bold  letters. 

Nearly  opposite  this  on  the  left  is  Tell's 
chapel,  a  stone  shrine  built  on  the  verge  of  the 
lake  and  adorned  with  large  and  excellent 
frescos  of  the  stirring  events  in  Tell's  life. 

Here  once  every  year  a  service  is  held,  and 
the  hearts  of  the  sturdy  Switzers  are  stirred 
again  to  patriotism  and  love  of  freedom,  which 
for  so  many  centuries  they  have  maintained. 

In  the  wild  storm,  you  will  remember,  when 
Gessler's  men  could  no  longer  manage  the  boat, 


Ji!^^t.i.iL^vi--iaaaiiwvi;i.;,,i.Y....-j^j, 


lousea,  like 


5, 

r 
;aning.' 


>  charm  to 
>ide  of  the 
up  on  the 
e  together 
i  death  to 
)ry  side  in 


ighty  feet 
trhich  has 
a  Schiller 
era. 

is  Tells 
ge  of  the 
excellent 

life. 

held,  and 
e  stirred 
m,  which 
^ined. 
>er,  when 
the  boat, 


The  Land  of  William  Tell  27 

he  was  obliged  to  call  upon  his  prisoner  for 
help.  Tell  was  bound  and  lying  in  the  boat, 
being  carried  to  the  dungeon,  •'  where  neither 
sun  nor  moon  will  give  thee  light,"  as  Gessler 
assured  him. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  storm  and  of  the 
fright  of  the  boatman,  he  steered  the  boat  to 
this  sheltering  rock. 

"  I  breathed  a  prayer  to  God  for  grace,  and  jamming 
The  rudder  down  with  all  the  force  I  could, 
I  pressed  the  boat's  stern  right  against  this  rock ; 
Then,  quick  my  weapon  seizing,  swung  myself 
Upon  this  ledge  above  me  with  a  bound." 

Here  on  this  legendary  site  stands  the  chapel 
to^ay.  When  we  visited  it,  a  German  cornet- 
ist  was  also  making  the  same  pilgrimage ;  and, 
turning  his  silver  horn  to  the  open  door  of  the 
chapel,  he  softly  played,  •'  Nearer,  my  God,  to 
thee,"  "a  prayer  for  God's  grace"  that  we 
could  all  breathe  on  that  fair,  beautiful  day,  so 
diflferent  from  the  scene  at  the  time  of  Tell'e 
adventure  on  the  same  spot. 

A  walk  of  two  miles  from  Fluellen  at  the 
head  of  the  lake,  through  green  pastures  which 
always  echo  to  the  cow-bell's  tinkle,  brings  us 
to  the  little  village  of  Altdorf,  the  scene  of 
Tell's  most  famous  exploit.  Here  a  prison  was 
being  erected  for  patriotic  spirits  such  as  Tell ; 
and  here  the  hated  tyrant  Gessler  commanded 
him  to  shoot  the  apple  from  his  son's  head. 


■■■ 


Mri 


28 


Fellow  Travellers 


The  very  spot  where  Tell  stood,  accrrding 
to  the  story,  is  marked  by  a  colossal  bronze 
statue  of  the  great  archer,  and  the  statue  is  set 
off  by  being  placed  against  a  great  tower,  on 
whose  side  is  painted  a  huge  picture  of  the 
memorable  scene. 

A  public  fountain  a  few  yards  away  is  said 
to  mark  the  spot  where  the  brave  Walter  Tell 
stood,  with  his  back  against  a  tree,  and  the  ap- 
ple on  his  curly  head.  As  they  proposed  to 
bandage  his  eyes,  that  he  might  not  watch  the 
arrow's  fatal  flight,  the  fearless  lad  cries  out : — 

"  Wherefore  my  eyes  ?    Suppose  I'd  be  flinching 
At  shaft  from  father's  hand  ?     I  will  stand  fast 
Awaiting  it,  nor  even  wink  my  eyelids. 
Quick,  father,  show  them  thou  a  marksman  art." 

At  last,  after  a  vain  attempt  to  soften  the 
tyrant's  heart,  the  arrow  flies  and  cleaves  the 
apple  to  the  core,  leaving  the  boy  unharmed. 

"  That  was  a  shot !    'T  will  be 
The  talk  of  man  down  to  the  latest  ages. 

"  They  will  relate  tales  of  the  archer  Tell, 
As  long  as  mountains  are  enduring." 

"  What  is  the  use,"  do  you  say,  "  of  marking 
with  monument  and  fountain  the  legendary 
scene  of  heroism?  It  is  but  a  sentiment  to 
make  so  much  of  the  mythical  Tell'a  prowess." 

Ah  I  but  '*  the  world  is  ruled  by  sentiment." 


■^^'^-'r  I'liyi-Trn'riiii")''''^  'TnfiiTTii^ 


•fttt.  . 


accrrdiiig 
>al  bronze 
atue  is  set 

tower,  on 

ire  of  the 

ray  is  said 
alter  Tell 
lid  the  ap- 
>po8ed  to 
vratch  the 
les  out : — 


The  Land  of  William  Tell  29 

W<juld  that  it  were  ruled  still  more  by  such 
sentiments  of  patriotic  heroism  as  are  stirred 
by  the  story  of  William  Tell  I 

Who  can  say  how  much  of  the  spirit  of 
sturdy  republicanism  and  unfaltering  love  of 
freedom  which  the  Swiss,  more  than  any  peo- 
ple of  Europe,  have  exhibited  for  five  centuries, 
is  due  to  the  story  of  dauntlesi  William  Tell  ? 


ing 

St 

rt." 

)ften  the 
iaves  the 
armed. 

ts. 

II. 


marking 
gendary 
ment  to 
rowess." 
timeut." 


A  LE880N  FROM  THE  JUNGFBAVT 

A  FEW  days  ago  I  toiled  up  the  Wengern 
Alp.  It  was  a  hard  climb  of  four  hours  from 
Luuterbrunnen,  but  wo  were  repaid  for  every 
wearisome  step  by  the  magnificent  views  that 
burst  upon  us  at  every  turn. 

On  one  side  was  rugged,  cloifd-tipped  Mur- 
ren,  down  whose  furrowed  sides  poured  the 
Staubbach  and  half  a  dozen  lesser  waterfalls. 

Before  our  eyes  were  the  ever  unfolding 
glories  of  the  Jungfrau  and  her  mighty  attend- 
ants, the  Eiger,  the  Silberhorn,  and  the  Schnee- 
horn,  clad  in  their  dazzling,  unsullied  garments 
of  driven  snow.  It  was  one  of  the  few  perfect 
mornings  of  this  very  cloudy  summer  in  Swit- 
zerland, and  every  gigantic,  snow-crowned  peak 
was  looking  its  grandest. 

As  we  came  to  a  fork  in  the  path,  where  the 
view  was  beyond  all  words  to  express,  I  stopped 
a  moment  to  ask  some  workmen,  who  were  dig- 
ging a  cellar,  the  way  to  the  Little  Scheideck. 
They  politely  told  me,  and  at  the  same  time 
taught  me  a  lesson ;  for  I  noticed  that  from  their 
hole  in  the  ground  they  could  not  get  the  faint- 
est glimpse  of  the  wonderful  mountain-peaks. 

3Q 


•Miiiii 


uiM&Mia 


g;«r.-^.(j',i-'"'',''*'''r-'''-"''^-"^A.miiei«»'iiiiii  i  i' - 


Wengern 
lours  from 

for  every 
iriews  that 

)ped  Mur- 
oured  the 
aterfalls. 
unfolding 
ty  attend- 
le  Schnee- 
garmentB 
!W  perfect 
iu  Swit- 
nied  peak 

where  the 
I  stopped 
were  dig- 
icheideck. 
ame  time 
Tom  their 
the  faint- 
lin-peaks. 


A  Lesson  from  the  Jungfrau        31 

There  they  were  in  the  very  face  and  eyes  of 
mountain  scenery  that  you  and  I,  dear  follow 
traveller,  would  cross  oceans  and  continents  to 
behold.  By  taking  half  a  dozen  steps  out  of 
their  circumscribed  hole  in  the  ground  they 
could  gaze  upon  such  sights  as  poets  have  felt 
powerless  to  sing  and  the  greatest  artists  to 
paint;  yet  for  hours  at  a  time  they  were  obliv- 
lous  of  the  Jungfrau  and  the  Silberhorn. 

Every  few  minutes  an  avalanche  would  go 
thundering  down  the  mountain-side  with  the 
noise  of  an  express  train's  roar,  while  a  Niagara 
of  snow  could  be  seen  leaping  from  peak  to 
peak,  until  it  found  rest  in  the  valley  beneath; 
but  these  hardy  Switzers  did  not  onc«  turn  their 
heads  to  see  the  glorious  sight. 

Now  I  have  written  all  this,  not  to  show  the 
stupidity  of  Swiss  peasants  or  their  woful  lack 
of  appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  nature;  for 
you  and  I,  if  we  spent  our  lives  on  the  Wen- 
gern Alp,  would  doubtless  be  just  as  oblivious 
to  its  glories.  In  fact,  it  is  because  you  and  I 
are  so  much  like  the  Wengern  Switzers  that  I 
have  told  you  about  them  by  way  of  a  parable, 
that  we  may  see  our  faces  reflected  in  theirs. 

Here  are  we,  living  with  God  in  our  very 
midst;  but  some  of  us  have  never  seen  him, 
and  others  have  caught  only  a  fragmentary, 
fleeting  glimpse,  and  th«n  have  turued  to  our 
digging  and  delving  in  the  dirt  again, 


Fellow  Travellers 

We  have  but  to  lift  up  our  spiritual  eyes  to 
behold  him,  and  we  have  never  done  it.  We 
hear  the  noise  of  his  avalanches,  the  thunder 
of  his  providences,  and  we  scarcely  turn  our 
heads  to  see  whence  the  providence  conies,  or 
to  read  its  meaning. 

O  the  benumbing  effect  of  familiarity  and  use ! 
The  Bible  has  been  in  our  hands  so  many  years 
that  it  has  become  a  commonplace  book  to  us. 
We  have  read  its  precious  promises  of  rest  and 
comfort  so  many  times  that  these  jewels  have 
lost  their  sparkle,  and  are  but  common  pebbles. 

We  are  so  used  to  the  thought  of  God  as  our 
refuge  and  strength,  our  high  rock,  our  impreg- 
nable mountain,  that  in  its  familiarity  we  for- 
get its  reality  and  its  tremendous  truth. 

These  truths  of  the  reality  and  the  presence 
of  God  are  the  truths  that  have  made  men  great 
in  all  the  ages,  and  these  truths  are  all  for  us, 
fellow  Christian  Endeavorers. 

God  reveals  himself  to  the  common  man  that 
will  look  for  him  just  as  truly  as  to  the  sago 
and  the  prophet,  just  as  those  Swiss  laborers 
could  see  the  mighty  Jungfrau  if  they  would 
only  climb  out  of  their  hole  in  the  ground  and 
turn  their  heads. 

Nay,  you  need  not  leave  your  daily  work, 
digging  cellars  though  it  may  be.  In  your 
cellar,  with  your  hands  stained  with  honest  toil, 
you  can  see  God. 


-lAl'iS.A-Sf.'  " 


ual  eyes  to 
10  it.  We 
le  thunder 
r  turn  our 
I  conies,  or 

by  and  use ! 
nany  years 
)ook  to  us. 
i  rest  and 
jwels  have 
n  pebbles. 
3rod  as  our 
ur  impreg- 
ty  we  for- 
th. 

B  presence 
men  great 
all  for  us, 

man  that 
)  the  sage 
9  laborers 
ley  would 
round  and 


A  Lesson  from  the  Jungfrau 

Butifou  must  look.  That  is  the  one  condi- 
tion You  must  look.  You  must  not  let  usage 
or  familiarity  or  prejudice  shut  God  away  from 
you.  or  seal  the  Bible  to  your  eyes,  or  stop  your 
ears  to  the  noise  of  his  goings  in  the  world. 

Open  your  eyes  to  him,  and  you  will  say  with 
Jacob.  "Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place.'lnd  I 
knew  It  not";  and  with  Job.  M  have  heard  of 
thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear.  but  now  mine 
eye  seeth  thee." 

But  do  you  say  to  me,  "Your  sermon  is  quite 
long  already;  it  is  somewhat  mystical,  and  not 
altogether  practical "  ?  Well.  I  have  preached 
It  to  myself,  and  I  hope  one  auditor  has  been 
oenented,  in  any  event. 


lily  work. 

In  your 

onest  toil, 


■i  I 


ir 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  IN  SWITZERLAND 

Op  late,  my  fellow  travellers,  we  have  been 
across  France,  through  much  of  Switzerland, 
and  are  now  for  a  day  at  Coblenz  on  the  Rhine, 
on  our  way  to  Berlin,  where  the  second  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  convention  of  Germany  opens 
next  week. 

Though  I  am  in  Germany,  my  letter  to-day 
must  be  about  Christian  Endeavor  in  Switzer- 
land. The  pioneers  of  genuine  Christian  En- 
deavor in  Switzerland  were  the  three  Murray 
sisters,  of  Lausanne.  But,  a  few  months  since, 
they  went  to  India  to  live ;  and  though,  as  you 
might  be  very  sure,  they  have  done  all  they 
could  for  the  movement  in  their  new  home,  the 
cause  has  languished  in  SwitzerLnd  since  their 
departure. 

I  was  invited,  howev«r,  to  attend  two  gather- 
ings, one  in  Zurich  and  one  in  Winterthur. 
Zurich  is  the  largest  town  in  Switzerland,  a 
thriving,  Protestant  city  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thoi -MV*  *j  inhabitants,  while  Winterthur  is 
a  smalle     U  '  lut  an  important  railway  centre. 

Come  iii  i'  oiiO  of  these  meetings  with  me,  for 
it  is  typical  of  my  work  for  Christian  Endeavor 

M 


TZ2BLAND 

re  have  been 
Switzerland, 
m  the  Rhine, 
lecond  Chris- 
rmany  opens 

letter  to-day 
r  in  Switzer- 
/hristiau  En- 
dree  Murray 
nonthg  since, 
ough,  as  you 
une  all  they 
w  home,  the 
d  since  their 

two  gather- 
Winterthur. 
itzerland,  a 
undred  and 
'^interthur  is 
way  centre, 
with  me,  for 
u  Endeavor 


Christian  Endeavor  in  Switzerland    35 

in  all  foreign  l&nds,  or,  rather,  in  lands  where 
English  is  not  spoken.  Let  us  attend  the  Zurich 
meeting  together.  It  is  held  in  St.  Anna's  Lu- 
theran  Church,  and  an  audience  of  about  three 
hundred  Switzers  are  present,  many  of  them 
young  men  and  maidens.  My  interpreter  is  a 
pleasant-faced  lady,  who  has  spent  many  years 
in  England.  We  stand  up  together  in  a  box 
pulpit  raised  high  above  the  congregation. 

I  say  a  sentence  in  English,  and  she  repeats 
it  in  German.  Another  sentence  in  English,  a 
pause,  and  its  equivalent  is  given  in  German. 
Again  a  little  English,  followed  by  a  little  Ger- 
man, and  during  each  pause  I  have  time  to  real- 
ize how  very  unsatisfactory  it  is  to  speak  in  an 
unknown  tongue,  while  with  every  breath  I  sav 
with  the  apostle,  "I  had  rather  speak  five  words 
with  my  understanding,  that  by  my  own  voice 
I  might  teach  others  a)iio,  than  ten  thousand 
words  in  an  unknown  tongue." 

Moreover,  there  are  some  Christian  Endeavor 
expressions  that  are  difficult  to  put  into  another 
language.  For  instance,  the  very  name,  "  Chris- 
tian Endeavor,"  is  not  easy  of  translation.  The 
word  at  first  adopted  in  Germany,  "Christliche 
Bestrebungen,"  has  to  some  German  ears  an 
unpleasant  significance  of  vaulting  ambition, 
instead  of  the  modest,  humble  meaning  that  at- 
taches to  our  word,  "Endeavor";  and  so  the 
phrase,  ♦'  Entschiedenes  Christenthum,"  has  been 


I'  I 


t'i 


36 


Fellow  Travellers 


recently  adopted.  Moreover,  as  you  can  imag- 
ine, "  lookout  committee,"  "  consecration  meet- 
ing," '*  social  commibtee,"  etc.,  are  not  without 
their  difficulties.  No  wonder  that  some  of  these 
words  are  "  posers,"  since  they  have  found  their 
way  into  our  latest  English  dictionaries  only 
since  the  Christian  Endeavor  movement  has  be- 
come strong. 

However,  my  interpreter  overcomes  the  dif- 
ficulties most  admirably;  the  audience  listens 
with  exemplary  patience,  and  some  have  the 
politeness  to  tell  me  after  the  address  that  they 
have  enjoyed  the  evening ;  and  many  requests 
come  for  literature  and  further  information, 
with  the  assurance  that  some  fruit  will  result 
in  the  future. 

I  describe  this  meeting  with  some  particu- 
larity, for  it  is  a  fair  sample  of  much  of  this 
seed-sowing  in  foreign  lands.  It  is  no  easy 
task,  I  assure  you.  To  speak  through  an  in- 
terpreter is  always  a  mortification  of  the  flesh 
to  the  first  speaker,  and  is  anything  but  an  easy 
task  for  the  interpreter;  but  ** needs  must"  is 
a  stern  taskmaster ;  and,  if  it  will  help  on  the 
Master's  kingdom  through  Christian  Endeavor, 
I  am  quite  willing  to  speak  the  ten  thousand 
words  in  an  unknown  tongue,  as  I  shall  prob- 
ably do  nearly  every  day  for  seven  months  to 
come. 

The  next  day  after  the  meeting  in  Zurich  I 


■»  X. 


^ou  can  imag- 
icration  meet- 
•  not  without 
some  of  these 
e  found  their 
ionaries  only 
•ment  has  he- 
mes the  dif- 
ience  h'stens 
ae  have  the 
188  that  they 
iny  requests 
information, 
t  will  result 

tie  particu- 
tich  of  this 
is  no  easy 
ugh  an  in- 
)f  the  flesh 
but  an  easy 
8  must"  is    • 
lelp  on  the 
Endeavor, 
thousand 
ihall  prob- 
nonths  to 


Christian  Endeavor  in  Switzerland    37 

addressed  three  gatherings  in  Winterthur,  a 
pastors'  conference  in  the  morning  at  Pastor 
Ninck's  house,  a  Sunday-school  convention  in 
the  afternoon,  and  a  popular  meeting  in  the 
evening.  At  all  these  gatherings  Pastor  Niuck 
translated  for  me,  and  succeeded  in  interesting 
the  audience,  however  poor  may  have  been  the 
material  he  had  to  translate. 

This  pastor  bears  one  of  the  most  honored 
names  in  Germany,  his  lamented  father  having 
been  a  minister  of  renown  in  Hamburg  and  an 
author  of  note,  whose  works  are  known  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic.    He  is  thoroughly  inter- 
ested in  Christian  Endeavor,  and  feels  that  it 
has  a  mission  in  Switzerland;  and  I  hope  that 
through  his  energetic  and  influential  advocacy 
the  Society  may  find  a  kindly  welcome  in  tliis 
sturdy  little  republic  to  whose  eraraple  and 
heroism  we  in  the  American  republic  owe  so 
much 


Zurich  I 


VI 


GOOD    NEWS    CONCERNING    KBIBTNA    ENDEAV- 
OUBF5RENINOABNA|f 

Can  you  translate  from  Sv/edish  into  English 
the  long  word,  with  its  twenty-two  letters, 
which  heads  this  chapter  ?  I  imagine  you  will 
not  have  much  difficulty,  for  the  first  three 
syllables  are  familiar,  whatever  may  be  said  of 
the  last  five. 

The  two  words  mean  nothing  more  formida- 
ble than  "  Christian  Endeavor  Unions,"  which 
is  the  subject  on  which  I  was  asked  to  speak  at 
the  meeting  of  the  Swedish  Sunday-school 
Union  in  Stockholm  on  September  19. 

Though  this  was  a  meeting  of  the  "  Sveriges 
Sondagsskolfiirbunds,"  U  may  with  equal  pro- 
priety be  called  the  first  Christian  Endeavor 
convention  of  Sweden,  for  our  Society  was  the 
chief  topic  discussed,  and,  of  the  two  days'  con- 
vention, it  occupied  the  whole  of  one  day  and 
part  of  the  other. 

But  to  begin  at  thti  beginning,  since  we  are 
fellow  travellers.  We  left  beautiful  Lucerne  on 
the  fifteenth  of  September;  for,  though  the 
distance  to  Stockholm  is  scarcely  a  thousand 
miles  (about  as  far  as  from  New  York  to  Chi* 

38 


IH  »=-*^  f»<wiMM*>'- 


.  JI»Mii^*WafcM1' 


A.    ENDBAV- 

tito  English 
wo  letters, 
lie  you  will 
first  three 
'  be  said  of 

^e  fortnida- 
iis,"  which 
o  speak  at 
day-school 

"  Sveriges 
squal  prc- 
Endeavor 
y  was  the 
=lays'  con- 
5  day  and 

56  we  are 
icerueon 
High  the 
thousand 
etc  Chi. 


Kristna  Endeavourforeningamy     39 

cago),  it  takes  us,  with  the  many  delays  at  cus- 
tomhouses and  the  slow  trains  of  northern 
Europe,  four  days  and  nights  to  reach  the 
beautiful  capital  of  Sweden. 

We  leave  the  Alps,  the  fertile  plains  of  Al- 
sace  and  Lorraine,  and  the  mighty  cathedral 
tower  of  Strasburg  behind  us,  and  then  a  mul- 
titude of  busy  German  cities,  until  at  last  we 
reach    Hamburg.    Then   across  the  northern 
peninsula  of  Germany  to  Kiel,  where  Emperor 
Williams  Canal   was  opened   with  so  much 
pomp  and  circumstance  a  few  months  since. 
Iben  by  steamer  to  the  flat  pastures  of  Den- 
mark,  by  rail   again  to  Copenhagen  (Kjoben- 
havn,  ,f  you  would  spell  it  as  the  natives  do), 
by  steamer  again  to  Malmci  on  the  Swedish 
coast,  and  thence  by  rail  sixteen  hours  more  to 
otockholm. 

We  cannot  stop  for  sight-seeing,  except  as  we 
get  the  fleeting  but  charming  views  from  the 
car-windows  or  the  steamer's  deck,  for  we  are 

Septembef  if  ^"'"^  ^^''^  '^*'"''*''^  '"°'"'"^' 
At  the  station  to  rneet  us  was  Baiik-president 
Carlson  (it  is  proper  to  give  a  man's  business 
title  here  m  Sweden),  who  took  me  at  once  to 
his  most  hospitable  home;  and,  if  you  had  all 
been  with  me,  a  hundred  thousand  of  you,  his 
heart  is  big  enough,  if  not  his  house,  to  take  us 
all  in. 


MHI 


M 


■"TtT 


) 


40 


Fellow  Travellers 


There  is  a  peculiar  charm  about  Swedish  hos- 
pitality that  I  wish  you  could  all  enjoy  with 
me.  Every  now  and  then  my  kind  host  would 
stop  to  shake  hands  with  me,  and  pat  me  on  the 
back  under  the  left  shoulder-blade  in  a  manner 
peculiarly  Swedish,  and  say,  "Dear  Dr.  Clark, 
you  are  very  welcome  to  Sweden."  How  could 
one  help  feeling  at  home? 

Soon  the  meetings  began.  Mr.  Carlson,  the 
president  of  the  union  ;  Mr.  Bookdealer  Palm, 
the  secretary,  and  his  assistant,  Mr.  Sandberg, 
are  all  most  hearty  friends  of  Christian  En- 
deavor, and  are  bound  to  give  it  the  right  of 
way  in  this  convention. 

I  am  introduced  to  the  executive  committee 
of  the  Union,  an  earnest  and  devoted  company 
of  men  from  all  parts  of  Sweden,  and  then  to 
the  convention  as  a  whole,  and  in  the  evening 
deliver  a  "  fiiredrag,"  which  is  interpreted  by 
Pastor  Truv^,  c  Goteborg,  who  studied  in 
America  for  several  years,  and  understands 
English  as  well  as  his  native  language. 

I  found  the  fallow  ground  well  broken  up, 
and  the  Christian  Endeavor  seed  already 
planted,  and  the  times  ready  for  just  such  an 
occasion  as  this  to  give  the  movement  form  and 
momentum. 

Mr.  Palm,  Mr.  Sandberg,  and  others,  had  al- 
ready written  and  spoken  much  on  the  subject; 
a  leaflet  had  been  translated  and  widely  circu- 


Swedish  hos- 
li  enjoy  with 
i  host  would 
)at  me  on  the 
in  a  manner 
ir  Dr.  Clark, 
How  could 

Carlson,  the 
lealer  Palm, 
r.  Sandberg, 
hristian  En- 
the  right  of 

1  committee 
3d  company 
and  then  to 
;he  evening 
^rpreted  by 
studied  in 
inderstands 
re. 

broken  up, 
id  already 
ist  such  an 
it  form  and 

irs,  had  al- 
io subject ; 
lely  cirou- 


Kristna  Endeavourforeningarnas      41 

lated ;  and  all  that  I  had  to  do  was  to  remove 

a  few  misapprehensions  on  the  part  of  some. 

and  show  how  simple,  flexible,  and  universal 

the  bociety  is  in  its  operations. 

In  fact,  there  are  already  a  large  number  of 
young  people's  societies  in  Sweden  which  have 

received  their  inspiration  from  the  Christian 
Endeavor  movement,  and  have  adopted  in  part 
our  principles,  especially  the  committees;  but 
they  had  not  adopted  the  name  or  the  pledge, 
and  few  have  prayer  meetings.  But  this  con- 
vention  will  go  far.  I  believe,  toward  establish- 
ing and  unifying  the  work  on  the  true  basis. 
Considerable  discussion  occurred  over  the 

English  word  right  into  the  heart  of  the  Swed- 
ish name,  and  christen  the  new  organization 

KRISTNA    ENDEAVOR  FOEENINGEN. 

thf  r^  r  ? Y  P"*  '''"  "  '^  "  ''^  "  Endeavor  "  as 

ol^^9  r  ^°'  °'  ^'"^^  ''  °"^  '^  the  Ameri- 
cans do?  I  discreetly  kept  my  mouth  shut  on 
this  subject,  but  it  was  decided  to  adopt  the 
American  spelling.  Endeavor,  as  being  more  in 
accord  with  Swedish  usage. 

of  Itself  be  a  bond  of  union  and  sympathy  be- 
tween  old  Sweden  in  Europe  and  new  Sweden 
m  America.  , 


lai 


VII 

CONOEENINQ  MUCH  WANDERING  IN  MANY 
LANDS 

Since  I  last  recorded  our  wanderings,  my 
dear  fellow  travellers,  we  have  been  in  many 
lands,— Sweden,  Denmark,  Germany,  Holland, 
England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  all  in  one  week.  We 
have  been  examined  at  five  customhouses,  and 
have  crossed  two  of  the  most  vicious  stretches 
of  tl)e  Atlantic  that  you  can  imagine. 

These  bits  of  the  North  Sea  and  the  German 
Ocean  are  always  lying  in  wait  for  the  unsus- 
pecting traveller,  with  their  seasick  horrors,  but 
last  week  they  were  unusually  violent.  Tlie 
••equinoctial  gale"  was  raging;  and  a  terrible 
gale  it  was,  lashing  the  sea  into  a  perfect  fury 
and  strewing  the  coast  in  every  direction  with 

wrecks. 

During  the  very  height  of  this  terrific  storm 
we  were  crossing  from  Denmark  to  Germany,  a 
seven  hours'  journey ;  and  again  the  next  night 
from  Holland  to  England,  seven  hours  more,  in 
a  still  more  violent  tempest.  The  way  those 
little  steamers  stood  first  on  their  heads  and 
then  on  their  heels,  and  then,  for  a  change, 
seemed  to  turn  over  on  their  sides,  and  balance 
themselves  on  each  elbow  alternately,  went  be- 
yond my  powers  of  description. 

42 


.^Dife 


■TMIMP* 


\  IN  MANY 

iderings,  my 
}en  in  many 
iny,  Holland, 
ne  week.  We 
tnliouses,  and 
ious  stretches 
ine. 

I  the  German 
br  the  unsus- 
k  honors,  but 
violent.  Tlie 
and  a  terrible 
El  perfect  fury 
iir"ction  with 

terrific  storm 
bo  Germany,  a 
the  next  night 
bours  more,  in 
'he  way  those 
eir  heads  and 
for  a  change, 
s,  and  balance 
itely,  went  be- 


Wandering  in  Many  Lands         43 

Every  now  and  then  a  huge  wave  would 
strike  the  steamer  with  a  report  like  that  of  a 
cannon.  One  of  these  waves  broke  in  the  port 
light  directly  over  my  berth,  and  flooded  my 
bunk,  but  fortunately  did  no  other  damage. 
Perhaps  you  will  be  glad,  when  you  read  these 
words,  that  "  we  "  are  travelling  together  only 
figuratively. 

But  these  long  nights  of  peril  and  discomfort 
are  forgotten  when  London  is  reached,  and  in 
the  familiar  home  of  those  good  friends  of  all 
Christian  Endeav  .i-ers,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waters, 
we  meet  the  members  of  the  London  Council, 
of  which  Rev.  F.  B.  Meyer  is  president. 

Since  reaching  London  we  have  been  attend- 
ing a  succession  of  great  Christian  Endeavor 
meetings,  which  you  can  imagine,  but  which  I 
find  it  hard  to  describe.     The  welcome  meeting 
in  the  Tabernacle  (Spurgeon's)  filled  that  mag- 
nificent auditorium  to  the  topmost  gallery  ;  yet 
there  had  been  no  public  advertising  and  not  a 
line  of  notice  in  the  papers.    Mr.  Meyer  pre- 
sided, and  spoke  most  enthusiastic  words  for 
Christian  Endeavor  as  a  spiritual  force;  and 
the  welcoming  address  by  Mr.  Fleming  was  be- 
yond all  description  kind  and  cordial.    To  my 
mind  the  great  significance  of  the  event  lay  in 
its  demonstration  of  the  strong  hold  that  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  has  taken  of  the  Christian  public 
of  London.    It  was  far  more  than  a  personal 


warn 


R 


i 
I 


44 


Fellow  Travellers 


matter.  It  was  an  occasion  that  told  the  public 
that  Christian  Endeavor  had  come  to  London  to 
stay  as  a  i.oimanent,  aggressive  religious  factor. 
The  day  following,  Sunday,  was  a  busy  day. 
In  the  morning  and  afternoon,  at  Bloonisbury 
Chai)el,  one  of  London's  famous  Baptist 
churches,  and  in  the  evening  at  Mr.  Meyer's 
church,  Christ  Church,  of  Westminster  Bridge 

Road. 

This  great  church,  as  many  of  you  know,  was 
built  in  part  by  American  friends  in  Dr.  New- 
man Hall's  time,  and  is  a  vast  and  ever  increas- 
ing  force  for  good  in  London  life  under  the 
pastorate  of  that  saintly  man  whose  helpful 
words  are  read  by  so  many  of  you. 

Glasgow,  the  great  commercial  metropolis  of 
the  Scots,  was  our  next  stopping-place,  and  the 
home  of  our  dear  friend  Mr.  Pollock  our  de- 
lightful haven.  Here  we  met  many  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Scottish  Union,  and  afterward  a 
great  public  meeting  was  held  in  beautiful  St. 
Andrew's  Hall,  which  housed,  I  suppose,  fully 
four  thousand  Glasgow  Endeavorers  that  night. 

There  I  saw  the  badge  banner  for  the  great- 
est proportionate  increase  in  societies,  which 
Scotland  won  last  year.  There,  too,  as  in  Lon- 
don, most  kind  and  generous  words  were 
spoken,  which  told  of  the  strong  hold  that  the 
Endeavor  cause  is  gaining  on  the  Scotch  as 
well  as  the  English  heart. 


--rt«fe«i-;W.a«aWW! 


WA^r 


bold  the  public 
3  to  London  to 
iligious  factor, 
as  a  busy  day. 
it  Bloomsbury 
tnous  Baptist 
t  Mr.  Meyer's 
uiuster  Bridge 

you  know,  was 
is  in  Dr.  New- 
id  ever  increase 
life  under  the 
whose  helpful 
>u. 

d  metropolis  of 
r-place,  and  the 
Pollock  our  de- 
lany  of  the  offi- 
id  afterward  a 
in  beautiful  St. 
I  suppose,  fully 
)rers  that  night, 
jr  for  the  great- 
societies,  which 
,  too,  as  in  Lon- 
is   words   were 
ig  hold  that  the 
the  Scotch  as 


Wandering  in  Many  Lands         45 

On  this  evening,  too,  was  launched  ScotttBh 
Endeavour,  a  bright,  breezy,  yet  substantial, 
sixteen-page  monthly,  edited  by  Mr.  Pollock 
and  Mr.  Fleming. 

Now  I  am  in  Belfast,  the  great  metropolis  of 
northern  Ireland,  where  the  best  Christian  En- 
deavor convention  that  Ireland  has  ever  known, 
and  one  of  the  best  I  ever  attended  anywhere, 
is  in  progress. 

Here  are  Mr.  Lament  and  Mr.  Montgomery, 
whom  you  remember  at  Boston,  and  Mr.  New- 
man Hall,  of  Montreal  and  Belfast,  who  is  about 
to  go  to  Montreal  again  for  a  few  days,  I  am  in- 
formed, on  a  "Aome  mission."  Ireland  has  de- 
signs on  the  banner  that  Scotland  holds  this 
year.    Keep  your  eye  on  the  Emerald  Isle. 

I  cannot  omit  a  reference  to  the  intense, 
burning  indignation  that  is  felt  everywhere 
against  the  Sultan  and  his  government,  or  mis- 
government.  In  every  speech  this  indignation 
blazes  forth,  and  at  every  meeting  resolutions 
are  passed  calling  upon  Lord  Salisbury's  gov- 
ernment to  end  the  rule  of  the  Turk  and  thus 
to  mend  Armenia. 

I  ought  also  to  have  said  that  before  I  crossed 
the  stormy  North  Sea  to  England,  a  hopeful 
meeting  was  held  in  Rotterdam  in  the  interests 
of  Christian  Endeavor,  the  first  ever  held  on 
Holland's  soil.  From  this  seed-sowing  I  hope 
for  a  future  harvest. 


Mmmsm^' 


Si-i-isssgms&miiii 


HM 


f^^ 


VIII 

FREDKRICK  BROTHBRTON  METER 
-     A  Man  ThtU  Walka  with  God 

One  of  the  men  heretofore  mentioned  in  thia 
volume  should  occupy  a  larger  space  than  a  line 
of  passing  allusion,  so  many  of  my  fellow  trav- 
ellers have  been  blessed  unspeakably  by  his 
written  and  spoken  words. 

Frederick  Brothertou  Meyer  is  no  stranger 
to  most  of  you.  You  have  drawn  inspiration 
from  him.  for  he  speaks  to  you  through  the 
printed  page  as  few  men  are  able  to  speak. 
Hi?  words  are  no  dead  things.  They  glow  and 
live  with  his  own  personality.  If  you  know 
thoroughly  his  writings,  you  know  the  man. 

Yet  it  is  pleasant  to  see  an  old  friend  in  his 
own  environment.  The  jewel  loses  nothing  by 
reason  of  its  setting. 

Christ  Church,  Westminster  Bridge  Road, 
London,  is  one  of  the  churches  that  lives  and 
breathes.  A  magnificent  structure  it  is,  of  gray 
stone.  It  is  of  peculiar  interest  to  Americans 
by  reason  of  its  impobing  "Lincoln  tower," 
which,  during  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Newman 
Hall,  was  built  by  money  raised  iu  America. 

46 


■*\i,a4« 


•  -iftiitiliiiMiiiiiii  MaM'rtjiiMiitriii^ 


Frederick  Brotherton  Meyer        47 


f  MEYER 

Hod 

sntioned  in  thia 
pace  than  a  line 
my  fellow  tiav- 
eakably  by  his 

'  is  no  stranger 
awn  inspiration 
ou  through  the 

able  to  speak. 

They  glow  and 

If  you  know 

low  the  man. 

old  friend  in  his 

loses  nothing  by 

ir  Bridge  Road, 
)S  that  lives  and 
ture  it  is,  of  gray 
3st  to  Americans 
Lincoln  tower," 
of  Dr.  Newman 
d  iu  America. 


This  church  has  had  a  notable  succession  of 
eminent  ministers,  the  renowned  Rowland  Hill 
being  its  first  pastor.    In  all  its  r.ppointments 
its  audience-room,  its  Sunday-school  class- 
rooms, its  lecture  hall,  and  in  all  its  smaller 
committee  rooms — it  is  complete,  according  to 
the  most  modern  ideas  of  ecclesiastical  archi- 
tecture.   But  we  are  most  interested  in  seeing 
its  pastor  in  his  study.     A  beautiful  room  is 
this  study,  but  beautiful  by  reason  of  its  asso- 
ciations and  the  pictures  that  hang  upon  the 
vail,  and  because  of  its  living  inmate,  more  thau 
by  reason  of  any  rich  furnishings  or  drapery. 
Here,  as  is  natural,  hangs  an  oil  painting  of 
Rowland  Hill ;  another  picture  is  of  Newman 
Hall,  while  a  marble  bust  of  Dr.  Hall  stands  in 
one  corner. 

Here,  too,  is  a  large  photograph  of  Mr. 
Spurgeon,  while  upon  a  table  near  by  stands  a 
speaking  likeness  of  Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon,  of 
Boston,  a  man  for  whom  Mr.  Meyer  expresses 
the  profoundest  reverence  and  affection. 

Another  framed  relic  that  makes  the  room 
attractive  is  a  leaf  from  the  diary  of  McCheyne, 
together  with  a  pressed  flower  that  McCheyne 
himself  picked  at  Palestine. 

But  the  living  occupant  attracts  us  more 
than  all  the  worthies  that  hang  upon  the  wall. 
A  man  of  medium  height  and  rather  slender 
build,  whose  somewhat  sparse  hair  is  brushed 


48 


Fellow  Travellers 


back  from  a  full  forehead,  sits  in  the  easy-chair 
before  me,  talking  in  low  but  most  earnest 
tones.  His  whole  manner  is  as  far  from 
sepulchral  gloom  as  it  is  from  trivial  levity. 
He  impresses  you  as  meaning  every  word  he 
says.  There  is  one  theme  that  above  all  others 
gives  a  pathos  and  a  richness  to  his  voice,  and 
that  is  the  love  of  Christ  and  the  importance  of 
a  life  fully  given  to  him. 

"  Won't  you  tell  me  a  little  about  your  ex- 
perience of  full  consecration,  Mr.  Meyer?"  I 

said. 

"Most  gladly,"  he  replied.    "It  is  the  one 

thing  in  ray  life  that  is  worth  talking  about,  if 
anything  is.  I  had  accomplished  some  good,  I 
believe,  before  this  experience,  and  was  not 
altogether  a  failure  as  a  minister ;  but  I  had 
not  the  power  with  men  or  with  God  that  I 
desired.  There  was  one  stumbling-block  in 
the  way,  one  thing  I  had  to  yield,  one  affection 
that  I  had  to  root  out  of  my  heart;  but,  when 
the  surrender  was  fully  made  and  I  gave  up 
absolutely  everything  to  God,  the  way  became 
clear  and  bright. 

"  I  do  not  meap  that  everything  was  revealed 
to  me  suddenly.  New  apartments  of  the  riches 
of  God's  grace  are  constantly  being  opened  to 
me,  but  then  I  received  the  key  that  opened  the 
outer  door,  and  all  the  other  doors  swing  inward 
as  I  come  to  them. 


^'.UiaJ. 


W  ,>Llt>iffHW)lM 


iiilll.iillJ!!l!|.M!Jl!.'|i. '■ 


^mm 


Frederick  Brotherton  Meyer         49 


the  easy -chair 
>  most  earnest 
as  far  from 
trivial  levity, 
every  word  he 
kbove  all  others 
)  his  voice,  and 
9  importance  of 

about  your  ex- 
kir.  Meyer?"  I 

"It  is  the  one 
diking  about,  if 
ed  some  good,  I 
),  and  was  not 
ter;  but  I  had 
ith  God  that  I 
nbling-block  in 
Ld,  one  affection 
eart ;  but,  when 
and  I  gave  up 
the  way  became 

ing  was  revealed 
ints  of  the  riches 
being  opened  to 
r  that  opened  the 
ors  swing  inward 


"The  two  sayings  that  impressed  me  most 
deeply,"  he  went  on  to  say,  "  wer^,  in  the  first 
place,  one  that  was  overheard  by  Moody  as  he 
walked  in  Phoenix  Park  in  Dublin.  He  heard 
one  man  saying  to  another,  as  they  walked  be- 
hinrf  him,  'The  world  does  not  yet  know  what 
God  can  accomplish  through  a  fully  consecrated 
man.' 

"  The  other  saying  that  greatly  influenced  my 
life  was  Hudson  Taylor's  remark  to  me  one  day, 
—•God  told  me  that  he  was  going  to  evangelize 
inland  Cliina,  and  that  he  would  do  it  through 
me,  if  I  would  only  walk  by  his  side.' 

"Often  and  often  have  I  thought  of  these 
words,"  said  Mr.  Meyer,  "  and  great  has  been 
their  influence  upon  my  life.  Tell  the  young 
people,"  he  continued,  "  to  read  and  reread  and 
then  to  read  again  the  Gospel  of  John,  and  see 
how  our  Lord  was  u$ed  by  the  Father,  how  God 
spoke  through  him  and  to  him,  and  how  he 
was  simply  the  moving  will  of  God.  There  is 
oar  example  in  this  as  in  all  things." 

"  But  do  you  always  have  an  abiding  peace 
and  joy  and  confidence  ?  "  I  said.  '•  Are  there 
no  ups  and  downs  in  your  religious  experi- 
ence?" 

"Well,"  he  replied,  "I  am  not  a  man  of 
ecstasies,  or  of  exalted  heights  or  abysmal 
depths.  I  do  not  think  much  about  my  emo- 
tions or  my  feelings,  but  simply  try  to  do  what 


■■-^ftaisis-' 


Fellow  Travellers 


God  would  have  me  do,  and  there  is  a  satis- 
faction and  peace  in  my  life  which  passes  un- 
derstanding." 

Great  as  is  the  congregation  to  which  Mr. 
Meyer  preaches  on  Sunday,  it  is  a  vastly  greater 
congregation  to  which  he  preaches  through  the 
printed  page. 

Not  only  are  his  sermons  widely  reported,  but 
he  is  undoubtedly  the  most  prolific  writer  of  de- 
votional boolw  and  booklets  of  the  present  gen- 
eration, perhaps  the  most  voluminous  writer  of 
devotional  literature  that  the  world  has  ever 
known.    Moreover,  there  is  a  uniformity  of  ex- 
cellence about  his  work  which  is  most  remark- 
able.   He  has  written  very  few  dull  pages,  and 
fewer  still  weak  pages.    He  is  a  master  of 
simple,  lucid,  musical  English.    He  never  de- 
scends to  goody-goody  talk,  or  to  cheap  sen- 
timentality.   There  is  much  of  piety,  but  very 
little  pietism,  ill  his  pages;  much  religion,  but 
no  religiosity.    His  is  &Uo  a  manly  and  virile 
style  as  well  as  poetic  and  musical.    His  illus- 
trations are  drawn  from  the  very  widest  range, 
and  show  a  large  acquaintance  with  the  liter- 
ature of  the  ages.    Yet  it  is  very  evident  that 
the  Bible  is  the  chief  source  of  his  inspiration 
and  his  power.    He  is  above  all  an  expositor. 
He  often  takes  a  common  biblical  phrase,  which, 
because  of  its  very  familiarity,  we  pass  by  as  we 
would  a  pebble  in  the  street,  and  in  a  few  sen- 


!■! 


-^KiML^... 


wm 


;rs 

there  is  a  satis- 
hich  passes  un- 

n  to  which  Mr. 
i  a  vastly  greatei 
ihes  through  the 

ely  reported,  but 
lific  writer  of  de- 
the  present  gen- 
minous  writer  of 

world  has  ever 
Liuifonuity  of  ex- 
i  is  most  remark- 
\r  dull  pages,  and 

is  a  master  of 
.  He  never  de- 
)r  to  cheap  sen- 
f  piety,  but  very 
luch  religion,  but 
manly  and  virile 
isical.  His  illus- 
ory widest  range, 
ce  with  the  liter- 
very  evident  that 
of  his  inspiration 

all  an  expontor. 
oal  phrase,  which, 
,  we  pass  by  as  we 
and  in  a  few  sen- 


Frederick  Brotherton  Meyer         51 

tences  of  comment  he  causes  it  to  glow  and 
sparkle  like  a  diamond  of  the  first  water. 

For  instance,  to  illustrate  his  constant  illumi- 
nation of  biblical  passages,  as  we  were  talking 
together,  he  said:    "O,  I  have  such  a  fear  of 
being  a  castaway  I    Supposing  you  and  I  should 
become  in  Paul's  sense  of  the  word '  castaways,' 
what  a  dreadful  thing  it  would  be  1     Now  I  do 
not  think,"  he  went  on  to  say,  "  that  Paul  meant 
that  he  was  in  danger  of  being  cast  away  from 
the  presence  of  God,  and  shut  out  of  heaven, 
but  that  he  was  in  danger  of  rendering  himself 
unfit  for  God's  use,  just  as  we  cast  aside  a  pen 
when  it  will  no  longer  write,  or  a  bicycle  when 
it  becomes  worn  in  its  bearings  and  useless,  so 
Paul  feared  that  the  time  might  come  when 
God  could  no  longer  use  him  for  his  work; 
then  he  would  be  cast  to  one  side  and  some 
fitter  instrument  be  chosen.    In  this  sense  the 
thought  comes  upon  me  like  a  dreadful  night- 
mare sometimes,  What  if  I,  too,  should  become 
a  tool  that  God  could  not  use,  a  poor,  broken 

castaway?" 

♦•  But  how  do  you  manage,"  I  continued, "  to 
accomplish  so  much  work,  to  write  so  many 
books,  for  someiljing  new  from  your  pen  comes 
from  the  press  every  few  weeks  ?  " 

"It  is  only  by  keeping  at  it,"  he  replied,  "  by 
using  what  time  I  have,  and  because  of  a  fac- 
ulty of  concentration.     I  write  on  the  cars,  on 


-Tfl    , 


Fellow  Travellers 


the  trams,  wherever  I  have  a  few  moments  of 
leisure,  and  I  find  that  I  can  always  take  up 
the  train  of  thought  where  it  is  broken  ofiF. 
My  mind  seems  to  work  right  on  in  the  same 
line,  and  I  can  finish  out  a  sentence  that  I  be- 
gan yesterday,  and  carry  out  the  thought  with- 
out a  break.'* 

But  I  cannot  linger  longer  over  this  visit. 
It  was  not  a  formal  interview;  neither  of  us 
was  in  the  mood  of  professional  writers  or 
newspaper  men.  We  talked  together  for  a 
little  as  brother  with  brother.  It  was  my  great 
privilege  to  look  for  a  few  moments  into  the 
clear,  transparent  depths  of  a  great  nnd  good 
man's  soul.  I  thank  God  for  the  glimpse  I 
have  gained,  and  wish  that  all  who  rend  his 
works  would  see  behind  the  writings  a  pure, 
unselfish,  modest,  devoted,  and  holy  consecrated 
life. 


-4«a>-' 


;rs 

few  moments  of 
always  take  up 
b  is  broken  off. 
on  in  the  same 
ttence  that  I  be- 
le  thought  with- 

over  this  visit. 

;  neither  of  us 
onal  writers  or 

together  for  a 
It  was  my  great 
}ments  into  the 
great  and  good 
'  the  glimpse  I 
1  who  read  his 
writings  a  pure, 
boly  consecrated 


THB  PLOTJOHMAN  POET — 1796-1896 

One  of  the  incidental  events  in  our  visit  to 
Glasgow  briefly  alluded  to  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter was  an  hour  or  two  spent  in  the  remarkable 
Burns  Exhibition  which  marked  the  centennial 
of  the  death  of  the  great  poet.  My  visit  was 
made  under  the  happy  guidance  of  the  Rev. 
John  Pollock  who  is  a  great  lover  of  the  Plough- 
man Poet  and  who  knows  his  Burns  by  heart. 
Nothing  is  wanting  to  make  this  exhibition  a 
memorable  one  and  unique  beyond  all  others 
of  its  kind. 

Here  are  brought  together,  from  private  col- 
lections and  public  museums,  a  multitude  of 
objects  bearing  upon  the  life  of  Scotia's  bard. 
The  catalogue  itself,  which  records  the  objects 
to  be  seen,  is  a  portly  volume  of  four  hundred 
and  eighty-six  large  pages ;  and  if  there  is  any- 
thing which  the  lover  of  Burns  fails  to  find  in 
these  pages  we  have  not  discovered  it. 

The  pictures  in  this  exhibition  naturally  at- 
tracted our  attention  first.  Perhaps  the  most 
famous  of  these  is  the  original  portrait  of  Burns 
by  Alexander  Nasmyth,  of  which  there  are  two 
replicas  and  several  copies.    None  of  the  copies, 

63 


MBM 


msi^Basnfmm 


III 


l:!l 


Ml!  ! Mlii 
Mi 


!     I 


iiiii!!^ 


^ii 


k 


Fellow  Travellers 


however,  have  the  beauty  and  pathetic  outlines 
of  the  great  original. 

Another  notable  picture  represents  the  meeting 
of  Burns  and  Scott  on  the  only  occasion  when 
they  were  ever  brought  together.  This  was  at 
the  house  of  Professor  Fergusson,  when  Scott 
was  a  mere  boy.  Burns  had  been  affected  to 
tears  by  some  lines  from  an  unknown  poet  un- 
der the  print  of  a  soldier  lying  dead  on  the 
snow,  with  his  widow  and  dog  beside  hira.  No 
one  in  the  room  could  tell  who  wrote  the  lines 
except  the  boy,  Walter  Scott,  who  volunteered 
the  itiformation  ;  and  Burns  rewarded  hira  with 
a  kind  look  which  Scott  never  forgot. 

Innumerable  paintings  and  engravings  have 
been  inspired  by  the  poet's  work,  and  the  walls 
of  this  great  exhibition  are  hung  with  the 
painter's  conception  of  the  poet's  thought. 

"  Tam  o'  Shanter  "  naturally  has  inspired  the 
greatest  number  of  prints  and  paintings,  and 
by  more  than  one  large  canvas  we  are  reminded 
how 

"The  doubling  storm  roars  through  the  woods; 
The  lightnings  flash  from  pole,  to  pole ; 
Near  and  more  near  the  thunders  roll ; 
When,  glimmering  through  the  groaning  trees, 
Kirk  AUoway  seemed  in  a  bleeze." 

♦•  The  Cotter's  Saturday  Night "  shares  with 
"  Tam  o'  Shanter  "  the  honor  of  inspiring  most 
frequently  the  artist's  brush ;  but  many  of  the 


M>it 


ers 

pathetic  outlines 

Bents  the  meeting 
[y  occasion  when 
er.  This  was  at 
asont  when  Scott 
been  affected  to 
iknown  poet  un- 
ng  dead  on  the 
beside  him.  No 
9  wrote  the  lines 
who  volunteered 
warded  him  with 
forgot. 

engravings  have 
rk,  and  the  walls 
hung  with  the 
3t*s  thought, 
r  has  inspired  the 
d  paintings,  and 
I  we  are  reminded 

gh  the  woods; 
e.  to  pole ; 
ders  roll ; 
groaning  trees, 
It." 

ght "  shares  with 
of  inspiring  most 
but  many  of  the 


The  Ploughman  Poet 


55 


minor  poems  have  also  been  illustrated  by  great 
masters  of  the  pallet. 

The  portraits  of  many  of  the  people,  too, 
whom  Burns  immortalized  hang  upon  these 
walls.  Even  those  who  are  alluded  to  in  no 
complimentary  terms  are  here  found.  James 
Elphinstone,  for  instance,  of  whom  Burns 
wrote, — 

"  O  thou  whom  Poetry  abhors  1 
Whom  Prose  had  turned  out-of-doors." 

Here,  too,  is  the  picture  of  William  Creech, 
the  poet's  publisher, — 

«  A  little  upright,  pert,  tart,  tripping  wight, 
And  still  his  pn.-cious  self  his  dear  delight ; 
Who  loves  his  own  smart  shadow  in  the  streets, 
Better  than  e'er  the  fairest  she  he  meete." 

Many  another  author,  perhaps,  can  enter  into 
Burns's  inmost  feelings  as  he  reads  these  with- 
ering lines,  though  he  be  not  the  master  of  such 
a  picturesque  and  varied  assortment  of  adjec- 
tives. 

Of  even  more  interest  than  the  pictures  upon 
the  walls  are  the  precious  manuscripts,  carefully 
preserved  from  moth  and  rust  behind  transpar- 
ent glass.  Here  we  find  "  Holy  Willie's  Prayer," 
which  we  do  not  wonder  grated  so  harshly  upon 
the  Calvinistic  sensibilities  of  many  of  Burns's 
countrymen : — 


•'•XMMMMMMMMaMPfMMMIil 


^iil''^:r* 


h 


in 


mwm 


!    ( 


56  Fellow  Travellers 

,,v  «•  O  Thou,  wha  in  the  heavens  dost  dwell, 

Wha,  as  it  pleases  best  thysei", 
Sends  ane  to  heaven  and  ten  to  hell, 

A'  for  thy  glory, 
And  no  for  ony  guid  or  ill 

They  "ve  done  afore  thee  I " 

One  of  the  most  interesting  manuscripts  is 
written,  not  upon  the  coarse  and  time-stained 
paper  which  often  tells  of  the  poet's  poverty, 
but  upon  a  pane  of  glass  which  has  been  care- 
fully removed  from  its  window-frame  and  pre- 
served for  posterity  to  read.  On  this  glass 
Burns  scratched  with  diamond  point  the  fa- 
mous thirty-two  lines,  beginning : — 

«•  Thou  whom  chance  may  hither  lead, 
Be  thou  clad  in  russet  weed, 
Be  thou  deckt  in  silken  stole. 
Grave  these  maxims  on  thy  soul. 
Life  is  but  a  day  at  most 
Sprung  from  night  in  darkness  lost." 

A  bottle  in  a  tin  box  in  this  unique  exhibi- 
tion contains  a  bookworm,  with  the  inscription 
written  below : — 

"  Through  and  through  the  inspired  leaves, 
Ye  maggots  make  your  windings ; 
But  O,  respect  his  lordship's  taste, 
And  spare  his  golden  bindings." 

We  must  not  pass  by  the  multitudinous  edi- 
tions of  Burns's  works.  Were  there  nothing 
else  in  this  exhibition,   these  editions  alone 


iHij;: 


i^^tj^ 


wHagmeMojii*-**^ 


n 


■Hers 

IIS  dost  dwell, 

lel', 

en  to  hell, 


jre  thee  I " 

iiig  manuscripts  is 
e  and  time-stained 
he  poet's  poverty, 
hich  has  been  cnre- 
low-frame  and  pre- 
d.  On  this  glass 
tond  point  the  fa- 
iling : — 

Y  hither  lead, 
veed, 
stole, 
thy  soul. 
it 
arkness  lost." 

this  unique  exhibi- 
(vith  the  inscription 


inspired  leaves, 

windings ; 
p's  taste, 
lindings." 

)  multitudinous  edi- 
Vere  there  nothing 
lese  editions  alone 


■iiirniiln  nnwBIMWmilltWPMW 


The  Plougiiman  Poet 


57 


would  make  it  memorable,  and  would  show  the 
wonderfully  enduring  hold  which  the  poet  of 
the  ploughshare  has  upon  the  hearts  of  man- 
kind. Case  after  case  is  filled  with  editions  of 
the  poet's  work,  sent  forth  by  hundreds  of  pub- 
lishers and  in  many  languages.  They  are  of 
all  sizes,  too,  from  the  tiny  thumbnail  edition 
which  can  be  read  only  with  a  magnifying-glass 
to  the  portly  folio. 

Our  own  country  is  represented  in  this  col- 
lection by  sixty-seven  dilTeient  editions,  one  of 
which  was  issued  in  Hartford,  one  in  Salem,  one 
in  Wilmington,  two  in  Baltimore,  eighteen  in 
Boston,  twenty-one  in  New  York,  and  twenty- 
one  in  Philauelphia.  Of  course  the  editions 
printed  in  England  are  literally  numbered  by 
the  hundreds,  and  all  this  within  a  hundred 
years  from  the  death  of  the  poet. 

There  are  a  multitude  of  other  interesting  rel- 
ics which  I  cannot  take  space  to  mention, 
among  them  a  largo  armchair  loaned  by  Queen 
Victoria,  made  from  the  beams  of  AUoway 
Kirk.  On  the  inlaid  brass  in  the  back  of  this 
chair  is  engraved  the  whole  of  "Tarn  o'  Shan- 
ter";  and  it  is  in  itself,  apart  from  its  royal  as- 
sociations, a  beautiful  work  of  art. 

The  secret  of  \ho  p.  et's  power,  so  wonder- 
fully exemplified  by  this  centennial  exhilliion, 
a  power  which  seems  to  be  increasing  as  the 
years  go  by,  is  not  fat  to  seek.     Every  lover  of 


i 


I 


lilli 


ililliili 


i'nitiiiil'! 


A' 


58 


Fellow  Travellers 


Burns  would  give  a  Bomewlmt  different  expla- 
nation, perhapfl,  and  though  each  explanation 
might  be  partial,  each  would  be  true.  One  will 
find  the  source  of  his  power  in  his  stalwart  pa- 
triotism and  love  of  country,  a  patriotism  which 
touches  a  responsive  chord  in  the  heart  of  every 
man  in  every  clime  who  to  himself  hath  said, 
*'  This  is  my  own,  my  native  land." 

«•  An  early  wish  (I  miml  its  power) 
I  had,  and  to  my  latest  hour 

It  still  shall 'heave  my  breast ; 
That  I,  for  poor  auld  Scotland's  sake, 
Some  useful  plan,  or  beuk  could  make. 

Or  sing  a  sang  at  least." 

Another  will  explain  the  mighty  grip  which 
he  has  upon  the  heart  of  mankind  by  his  stur- 
diness  of  character  which  seems  to  give  a 
strength  and  vigor  to  every  slightest  poem,  a 
sturdy  self  respect  which  never  toadied  to  the 
great  or  rich  in  whatever  straits  he  found  him- 
self.    Burns  once  wrote : — 

"  However  inferior,  now  or  afterward,  I  may  rank  as  a  poet, 
one  honest  virtue  to  which  few  poets  can  pretend  I  trust  I  shall 
ever  claim  as  mine.  To  no  man,  whatever  his  station  in  life, 
or  his  power  to  serve  me,  have  I  ever  paid  a  compliment  at  the 
expense  of  truth." 

His  uncompromising  love  of  common  people 
and  common  things,  his  unswerving  democracy 
when  democracy  was  by  no  means  a  popular 


tmnm 


Kginn iii>'-«tii»a.twi<"'»"'"*"'' 


umaaa 


Icrs 

t  different  expla- 
each  explanation 
>e  true.  One  will 
n  his  stalwart  pa- 
i  patriotism  which 
the  heart  of  every 
liimself  hath  said, 
and." 

lowcr) 

r 

breast ; 
nd's  sake, 
:oulcl  make, 


nighty  grip  which 
nkind  by  his  stur- 
seems  to  give  a 
slightest  poem,  a 
ver  toadied  to  the 
aits  he  found  him- 


d,  I  may  rank  as  a  poet, 
an  pretend  I  trust  I  shall 
latever  his  station  in  life, 
paid  a  compliment  at  the 


of  common  people 
verving  democracy 
>  means  a  popular 


The  Ploughman  Poet  fl 

••fad,"  will   ever   endear  him  to  the  common 
people. 

But  above  all  he  is  Nature's  poet  and  always 
keeps  close  to  Nature's  heart.  In  this  lies  the 
great  secret  of  his  charm  and  power.  So  often 
has  this  been  said  that  to  repeat  it  is  wearisome ; 
but  it  has  never  been  better  said  than  by  the 
anonymous  author  who  thus  describes  him : — 

"The  Simple  Bard,  unbroke  by  rules  of  Ait, 
lie  pours  the  wild  effusions  of  the  heart; 
And  if  inspir'd,  't  is  Nature's  pow'r*  inspire  j 
Hers  all  the  melting  thrill  and  hers  the  kindling  fire." 


r  hiB  rniinnin-ri"""'^" 


*■  f> 


SSirWl^lB^iSlO^.'**-" 


,-,  1 


THREE  THOUSAND  MILES  IN  GERMANY 

Our  three  weeks'  campaign  in  the  "Father- 
land "  involved  something  like  three  thousand 
miles  of  travel  back  and  forth,  and  up  and 
down,  crisscrossing  Germany  in  all  directions. 
Meetings  have  been  held  not  only  iu  German 
Switzerland  on  the  edge  of  the  German  Empire, 
and  in  the  great  cities  of  Berlin  and  Hamburg 
and  Breslau  and  Dresden,  and  in  Halle  and 
Leipsic,  but  in  most  of  the  principal  provinces 
of  Germany  as  well,  in  Pomerania  and  Silesia, 
:n  East  Prussia  and  West  Prussia,  in  Saxony 
and  Hanover,  and  iu  Hesse  Nassau  also. 

The  last  four  meetings  have  been  among  t'ae 
most  interesting  of  all.     In  Cassel  may  be  said 
to  be  the  headquarters  of  Christian  Endeavor 
for  Germany.     Here  is  the  largest  society  of  all, 
with  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  members. 
Moreover,  both  young  men  and  women  are 
found  in  this  society.    This  is  a  startling  inno- 
vation  for  Germany.     One  would  almost  think, 
to  hear  the  common  remarks  on  this  subject, 
that  it  was  about  the  most  immodest  and  dan- 
gerous  thing  in  the  world  for  young  men  and 
women  to  come  together  in  a  prayer  meeting. 
The  great  restrictions  under  which  the  fair  sex 

60 


inii 


jaiiawwiiut.:*!""' 


■J 


IN  GERMANY 

n  in  the  "Father- 
te  three  thousand 
orth,  and  up  and 

in  all  directions. 
it  only  in  German 
e  German  Empire, 
rlin  and  Hamburg 
md  in  Halle  and 
principal  provinces 
lerania  and  Silesia, 
Prussia,  in  Saxony 
'Nassau  also, 
ve  been  among  t'ae 
Cassel  may  be  said 
Christian  Endeavor 
irgest  society  of  all, 
i  twenty  members, 
a  and  women  are 

is  a  startling  inno- 
j?ould  almost  think, 
ks  on  this  subject, 
immodest  and  dan- 
for  young  men  and 
n  a  prayer  meetiiig. 
r  which  the  fair  sex 


Three  Thousand  Miles  in  Germany   61 

ia  placed  in  all  such  matters  in  Germany  will 
undoubtedly  prove  a  decided  hindrance  to  the 
work  of  Christian  Endeavor. 

But  the  customs  of  the  centuries  cannot  be 
altered  in  a  single  day,  or  the  prejudices  of  a 
thousand    years  dissipated  like  the  morning 
mist.    Though  I  find  many,  pastors  and  others, 
who  would  like  greater  freedom  of  social  inter- 
course between  the  young  men  and  the  young 
women  of  their  churches,  and  feel  that  the  un- 
constrained   mingling    in    religious    meetings 
would  make  for  purity  and  righteousness  und 
the  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  even 
they    cannot    bring    it    about    in    their  own 
churches. 

Still,  as  I  say,  here  in  Cassel  is  a  genume 
mixed  Christian  Endeavor  society,  and  a  most 
earnest  and  aggressive  one,  if  I  may  judge  from 
all  appearances.  At  any  rate,  I  am, sure  that 
the  members  show  their  colors,  for  most  of  the 
young  ladies,  I  noticed,  wore  huge  silver  C.  E. 
monograms  almost  as  large  as  one  of  our  cart- 
wheel dollars. 

The  next  morning  early,  I  was  off  for  Wies- 
baden, the  famous  watering-place  near  the 
Rhine,  where  the  empress  of  Germany  has  been 
this  past  summer,  with  her  royal  retmue.  No 
wonder  she  goes  there,  for  it  is  one  of  the  love- 
liest  towns  in  Germany,  and  its  waters  are  fa- 
mous throughout  the  world. 


f,  - 


MHBI 


(1! 


1    ' 


I 


l\) 


i^J 


i 


^1 


11 


i   1  'lii 


■^iilP 


'mIIM! 


62  '    Fellow  Travellers 

But  of  move  interest  to  us  is  to  know  that 
here,  too.  is  a  fine  Christian  Endeavor  boc.ety 
in  the  church  of  the  beloved  and  honored  I  a*- 
tor  Ziemendorff.  1  do  not  know  when  I  have 
enjoyed  an  evening  more  than  the  one  in  Wies- 

haden.  ,     .       .,^„ 

This  society  is  largely  composed  of  young 
ladies,  but  the  sterner  sex  are  not  excluded,  and 
I  saw  at  least  four  of  them  whose  white  ribbon 
badges  proclaimed  that  they  are  members  of 
the  Wiesbaden  Society. 

But  if  there  were  few  young  men  to  lend 
their  manly  dignity,  a  society  of  such  young 
ladies  would  be  a  strong  and  notable  one  m  any 

\fter  the  public  meeting,  where  my  address 
was  translated  by  Pastor  Ziemendorff,  and  by 
an  American  physician  of  the  town,  an  after 
oieeting  of  the  society  and  a  few  of  its  friends 
was  held.     At  this  gathering  reports  were  given 
from  all  branches  of  the  society  work.    Some 
of  the  young  ladies  spoke  in  German,  and  some 
in  excellent  English,  and,  as  I  told  the«i,  I  had 
to  rub  my  eyes  to  make  sure,  as  I  heard  the  en 
couraging  story  of  the  year's  work,  whether  I 
•    was  in  England  or  America  or  Germany.    At- 
terward,  Miss  Ziemendorff  transla    d  a  brief 
address  of  mine  with  the  utmost  fluency.    Al- 
together it  was  a  delightful  and  memorable  ex- 
perience. 


JM 


lers 

J  is  to  know  that 
Endeavor  bociety 
and  honored  Taa- 
:now  when  I  have 
11  the  one  in  Wies- 

imposed  of  young 
)  not  excluded,  and 
irhose  white  ribbon 
y  are  lueoibers  of 

oung  men  to  lend 
ety  of  such  young 
I  notable  ope  in  any 

,  where  my  address 
Jiemendorff,  and  by 
the  town,  an  after 
a  few  of  its  friends 
5  reports  were  given 
aciety  work.    Some 
a  German,  and  some 
,B  I  told  them,  I  had 
:e,  as  I  heard  the  en- 
ar's  work,  whether  I 
la  or  Germany.    Af- 
f  transit    d  a  brief 
utmost  fluency.    Al- 
ii and  memorable  ex- 


Three  Thousand  Mi)  s  in  Germany    63 

The  next  morning,  -  Imost  before  daylight,  I 
started  to  traverse  a  large  slice  of  Germany 
once  more,  and  evening  found  me  in  the  great 
university  town  of  Halle.     The  meeting-place 
was  the  hall  of  the  famous  school  founded  m 
the  last  century  by  the  devout  Francke,  one  of 
the  most  godly  men  that  ever  lived  m  Germany. 
Starting   with  nothing  but  an  overmastering 
faith  and  unbounded  zeal,  the  huge  buddings, 
the  flourishing  school,  and  the  vast  influence  o 
his  work,  not  only  in  Halle,  but  throughout 
Germany,  testify  in  the  strongest  manner  to  the 
power  of  faith  and  prayer. 

Mauy  of  the  schoolboys  were  present  at  the 
meeting,  as  well  as  the  director  of  the  great  In- 
stitute Both  here  and  in  Leipsic,  a  number  of 
students  from  the  universities  attended,  m- 
eluding  many  Americans,  and  it  was  my  pleas- 
ant  privilege  to  greet  Endeavorers  from  a 

parts  of  the  United  State.  '''''^JfTtJ.I 
hospitable  cordiality  of  tl.ese  kind  friends  I 
shall  not  soon  forget. 

In  these  two  places,  Pastor  Simsa,  the  prison 
cl.-»main  of  Halle,  was  my  interpreter,  and  a 
better  none  could  ever  wish  to  have.  Thus  has 
come  to  an  end  this  long  Beries  of  Christian 
I^deavor  meetings  in   Germany.    In  ahnoB 

every  instance  have  I  been  surprised  at  the 
We  audiences  that  have  gathered,  and  at  the 
eXt  interest  manifested.    Still,  there  are 


mjM 


^^^ 


mmmi 


64 


Fellow  Travellers 


many  and  mountainous  diflBculties  in  the  "nray 
of  Christian  Endeavor  in  Germany,  and  what 
the  result  of  this  seed-sowing  will  be,  only  the 
future  years  will  tell.  May  some  seed  spring 
up  and  bear  fruit  unto  eternal  life. 


•«>«MrtM«^MIMWW«#ipif* 


XI 


TWO  FAMOUS  QBBMANS  IN  THE  CLASSROOM 
WdUuttuen  and  Harmck 

To-day  let  us  catch  a  glimpse  of  student  life 
in  Germany.  Let  me  try  to  picture  for  you  two 
striking  figures  of  the  German  classroom,  in 
these  ehd-of-the-century  days.  I  will  not  speak 
of  their  orthodoxy  or  heterodoxy,  or  the  hair- 
splitting differences  of  the  philosophy  which 
they  advocate,  but  simply  give  a  first  and  sur- 
face  impression  of  the  way  in  which  they  strike 
an  American  on  his  first  introduction  to  their 

classrooms. 

Let  us  go  to  Gottingen  first.  An  old  middle- 
of-the-era  city  is  this,  with  crooked,  narrow 
streets  and  beetle-browed  houses  placarded  with 
famous  names,  showing  that  Bismarck  and 
Longfellow  and  Bancroft  and  many  another 
celebrity  once  dwelt  in  them.  The  town  is 
surrounded  by  an  ancient  wall,  now  entirely 
unused  except  as  a  promenade,— the  "  Indian 
Ridge"  of  Gottingen.  All  my  readers  who 
have  been  Andover  students  will  understand 
this  allusion. 

There  are  only  about  twenty-six  thousand 
people  in  the  city  and  the  students  constitute 

65 


A 

A 


66 


Fellow  Travellers 


one-twenty-sixth  part  of  the  population,  giving 
them  a  far  more  predominant  and  conspicuous 
place  in  the  town  than  they  occupy  in  Halle  or 
Berlin,  or  the  larger  university  cities  of  Ger- 
many, where,   though   the  students  are  more 
numerous,  they  are  swallowed  up  to  a  larger 
extent  in  the  vaster  population.    Many  of  the 
students,  though  by  no  means  all  of  them,  be- 
long to  the  different  corps  which  are  distin- 
guished by   the   most  brilliant  of   caps,  red, 
green,  blue,  or  purple,  a  headgear  which  is  sur- 
passed  for  ridiculous  absurdity  only  by  the 
jaunty  little  red  cap  which  the  English  Tommy 
Atkins  balances  in  a  most  precarious  way  over 
his  right  ear,  holding  the  strap  thereof  appar- 
ently in  his  mouth,  lest  it  should  at  any  mo- 
ment   topple  down   from  its  insecure  perch. 
Most  of  these  corps  students  are  scarred  and 
seamed  like  veterans  of  a  hundred  battles,  as 
indeed  they  are,  for  they  are  obliged,  on  pain  of 
expulsion  from  the  corps,  to  fight  at  least  six 
duels  a  year.    Some  of  the  faces  are  perfectly 
hideous  with  the  deep  and  brutal  scars  of  which 
their  owners  are  so  proud. 

But  here  is  a  handsome  university  lecture 
hall  whero  almost  all  the  lectures,  except  those 
in  medicine  and  chemistry,  are  given.  Before 
the  hour  for  the  lecture  arrives  it  is  thronged 
with  students  hurrying  to  the  different  class- 
rooms, for  punctuality  at  lectures  seems  to  be 


n,  giving 
ispicuouB 

Halle  or 
a  of  Ger- 
are  more 

it  larger 
ny  of  the 
them,  he- 
re distin- 
;aps,  red, 
ich  is  Bur- 
Y  by  the 
h  Tommy 
way  over 
iof  appar- 
t  any  mo- 
ire perch, 
larred  and 
battles,  as 
on  pain  of 
t  least  six 
I  perfectly 
s  of  which 

ty  lecture 
cept  those 
J.  Before 
}  thronged 
rent  class* 
)ems  to  be 


Two  Germans  in  the  Classroom     67 

one  of   the  virtues  of  the  n-  erage  university 
student.    We  take  our  seat  on  one  of  the  long 
benches,  with  a  desk  in  front  of  us  carved  with 
the  names  and  initials  of  many  generations  of 
students,  together  with  various  symbols  and 
devices    which    tell    of   wandering    thoughts. 
Evidently  the  minds  of  the  students  are  not 
always  on  high  theology  or  lost  altogether  m 
the  fog  of   metaphysical  speculation,  for  the 
names  of   "Emma"  and  "Lisa"  and  "Ida 
and  various  other  feminine  appellations  appear 
upon  the  much-carved  desks. 

The  students  are  all  in  their  places,  when  the 
door  opens,  and,  with  a  quick,  nervous  tread, 
the  professor  enters.     It  is  the  famous  Well- 
hausen,  who  many  timid    souls  have  feared 
would  shake  the  very  foundations  of  our  faith 
and  uproot  all  our  traditionary  views  of  the 
word  of  God.    A  man  of  »tout  and  muscular 
build,  with  iron-gray  hair  and  beard,  ho  is  by 
no  means  fierce  or  malevolent  looking.     Hur- 
riedly entering  the  room,  he  hastily  throws  off 
his  overcoat,  steps  onto  the  platform  behind 
his  desk,  and  begins  to  talk  in  a  most  noncha- 
lant and  indifferent  sort  of  a  way  almost  before 
he  has  hung  his  coat  upon  its  appropriate  peg. 

This  studied  indifference  of  entrie  and  exit 
seems  to  be  affected  by  many  German  profes- 
sors I  say  "  affected  "  advisedly,  for  no  man 
can  really  be  quite  so  utterly  indifferent  and 


."*W« 


68 


Fellow  Travellers 


unconscious  of  all  liis  surroundings  as  many 
German  professors  appear.  No  word  of  kindly 
salutation  to  the  class,  no  prayer  such  as  we  are 
all  accustomed  to  in  our  theological  seminaries 
before  the  lecture  begins,  nothing  but  a  jump 
into  the  subject,  in  tnedias  re«,  and  a  talk  at 
railroad  speed  until  the  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  are  exhausted,  when,  with  equal  abrupt- 
ness, he  puts  on  his  coat  and  hat,  talking  up  to 
the  last  minute,  and  leaves  the  room  almost  be- 
fore the  echo  of  his  last  word  dies  away.  The 
whole  attitude  of  the  average  German  theolog- 
ical professor  seems  to  be,  "  Hear  me  if  you 
can,  but  it  makes  very  little  di£Ference  to  me 
whether  you  do  or  not."  As  to  having  any 
personal  interest  in  the  individual  student,  it 
seems  to  be  furthest  from  his  conception. 

In  fact,  Professor  Wellhausen  rarely  seems  to 
lecture  to  his  students,  but  directs  most  of  his 
attention  to  a  crack  in  the  floor  about  eight 
feet  from  the  base  of  the  platform  on  which  he 
stands.  As  this  crack  is  on  the  right  hand  side 
of  the  desk,  near  the  back  wall  of  the  lecture- 
room,  the  students  can  rarely  catch  rire  than 
a  glimpse  of  a  somewhat  sharp  profile,  with  a 
good  view  of  the  right  ear.  Sometimes  he 
turns  squarely  around  with  his  back  to  the 
students  and  his  face  to  the  wall ;  sometimes  he 
lifts  his  eye  aloft  and  fixes  it  upon  a  spot  in  the 
ceiling,  but  inevitably  the  crack  in  the  floor  at- 


MRM 


Two  Germans  in  the  Classroom     69 

tracts  his  att  mtion  once  more  and  he  brings  his 
eyes  back  to  their  favorite  resting-place. 

Just  now  Wellhausen  lectures  chiefly  on 
philological  subjects,  and  the  heavy  guns  of  his 
battery  are  not  turned  as  formerly  upon  the 
books  of  Moses.  Whether  it  is  owing  to  a  lack 
of  interest  in  the  subjects  on  which  he  dis- 
courses, or  to  his  uninteresting  style,  or  to  the 
fact  that  much  of  his  best  work  has  been  pub- 
lished, many  of  his  lectures  are  attended  by 
very  few  students,  the  one  which  I  have  de- 
scribed attracting  less  than  a  dozen,  if  I  re- 
member correctly. 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  all  German 
professors    adopt  this  nonchalant,  indifferent 
style.     Let  us  go  into  Harnack's  lecture-room, 
for    instance,   in    the    University  of    Berlin. 
Here   we   find   an   entirely  different  state  of 
affairs.    There  are  at  least  two  hundred  and 
fifty  or  three  hundred  students  present,  among 
whom  are  nearly  a  score  of  Americans,  to  hear 
the  great  authority  on  church  history.    We 
leave  our  overcoats  in  the  hall  outside,  and,  if 
we  are  especially  anxious  to  resume  them  again 
when  we  go  out,  we  chain  them  to  the  wall  with 
long  steel  chains  and  heavy  padlocks  which 
conveniently  hang  from  every  hook,  for  over- 
coat thieves  are  both  numerous  and  wily  at  the 
door  of  this  theological  lecture  hall.    The  room 
is  80  full  that  we  are  obliged  to  take  the  very 


wmm 


■« 


Tmr 


70 


Fellow  Travellers 


front  seat  and  literally  sit  at  the  feet  of  the 
great  lecturer. 

Scarcely  has  the  last  ntudent  taken  his  place, 
when  the  door  opens  once  more,  and  a  ti<  , 
wiry  man,  with  a  thin,  scattering  mustache  and 
hair  brushed  straight  back  from  his  forehead, 
enters  the  room.  He  is  ill-dressed  and  looks 
underfed,  and  we  at  first  think  he  is  one  of  the 
poor  theologues  who  is  working  his  wiiy  through 
the  university,  spending  more  for  midnight  oil 
than  for  oatmeal  porridge.  But  he  mounts  the 
platform  instead  of  taking  his  seat  with  the 
rest  of  us,  and,  after  a  pleasant  word  of  greet- 
ing, begins  his  lecttire,  for  this  is  nonr-  other 
than  the  celebrated  Ilarnauk.  There  w.is  noth- 
ing of  the  indifferent  •' take-it-or-leave-it "  air 
about  him. 

He  soon  warms  to  his  subject,  and  evidently 
is  thoroughly  interested  himself  while  seeking 
to  interest  his  pupils.  He  gesticulates)  freely 
and  appropriately.  His  eyes  sparkle,  and  now 
and  then  he  runs  his  fingers  through  his  long 
hair,  pushing  it  back  from  his  ample  forehead. 
At  times  he  becomes  decidedly  eloquent,  and 
sallies  of  wit  frequently  bring  a  broad  grin  to 
the  faces  of  the  eager  students,  who  are  dili- 
gently pushing  their  pens  to  keep  up  with  his 
torrent  of  words.  Evidently  Harnack  does  not 
despise  the  graces  of  oratory  and  is  not  afraid 
to  make  his  lecture  interesting  as  well  as  in- 


^■/iiiwirtM  <i*im-tMtm^ 


Two  Germans  in  the  Classroom      71 

Btructive.  He  seems  to  havo  very  few  notes 
before  him  and  seldom  refers  to  them.  Being 
too  much  confined  by  the  narrow  plati  »rm  he 
frequently  comes  down  onto  the  lower  step; 
returning  he  seats  himself  upon  the  arm  of  his 
professorial  chair,  balancing  himself  in  a  most 
insecure  way  until  we  become  so  anxious  for 
fear  it  will  topple  over  and  land  him  in  an  un- 
dignified sprawl  npon  the  floor  that  we  almost 
forget  to  listen  to  his  eloquent  periods. 

To  look  at  it  from  a  material  view,  if  we  may 
be  pardoned  for  so  doing,  it  is  well  worth  the 
lecturer's  while  to  make  his  lectures  interest- 
ing, for  he  receives,  in  addition  to  the  somewhat 
meagre  salary  paid  by  the  state,  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  students'  fees,  something  like 
$6.00  for  each  of  the  three  hundred  students 
who  take  this  course.  All  Andover  students 
of  the  olden  days  naturally  compare  every  new 
lecturer  whom  they  hear  with  that  prince  of  in- 
structors and  king  of  the  lectnre-roora,  Pro- 
fessor  Park.  Who  of  us  will  ever  forget  the 
eagerness  with  which  we  looked  forward  to 
those  rare  literary  treats  ?  Who  does  not  re- 
member the  human  interest  with  which  every 
dry  theological  theme  was  lighted  up?  Who  of 
us  cannot  recall  the  gleam  of  shrewd  humor 
which  used  to  come  into  that  marvellous  face 
before  the  lips  uttered  some  sharp  witticism  or 
told   some   extraordinarily  good   story?     Was 


imaw 


•••■■fBP 


^"•9^. 


'yi' 


Fellow  Travellers 


there  ever  an  iiistruotor  who  bo  impressed  him- 
self upon  his  students,  or  so  affected  all  their 
modes  of  thouglit  au  did  Professor  Park  ? 

In  these  respect.s  Professor  llarnack,  of  all 
German  professors,  seems  to  have  more  in  com- 
mon with  the  great  preai'lei  of  Andover  Hill 
than  any  one  whom  I  have  ever  heard. 

Speaking  of  the  inevitable  (,<  iidency  to  run 
after  new  and  brilliant  luminaries,  as  illustrated 
in  Profr  >or  Weiss's  career,  Professor  Harnaok 
said  to  a  friend  of  mine  :  "  It  comes  to  all  of  us 
sooner  or  later.  It  will  come  to  me  as  well  as 
to  the  rest.  I  shall  lose  my  popularity  and 
my  students  one  of  these  days.  The  night 
Cometh,  the  night  of  decadence  and  unpopular- 
ity, as  well  as  the  night  of  death.  It  becomes 
us  all  to  work  while  our  day  lasts."  Surely  the 
prosaic  minister  of  the  siuiple  gospel  could 
utter  no  more  sensible  or  practica  truth  than 
this.  For  the  great  scholar,  as  for  the  humblest 
worker,  the  night  cometh.  Let  us  work  while 
it  is  called  to-day. 


> 


i8^#^«* 


II'  rrtJIiiai^Tirn     iiifiin"'ii«ii-i'''Ti"-"""'-'^'"    '    --'^   ''^  '^'^- 


mm 


him- 
tlieir 

>f  all 
corn- 
Hill 

)  run 

rated 

'iiaok 

of  us 

ell  as 

'  and 

night 

)ular- 

iomes 

y  the 

could 

1  than 

iblest 

while 


W^' 


XII 

BOMB  THINGS  IN  GERMANY  WORTH  COPYING 

During  these  weeks  in  which  we  have  been 
zigzagging  together  across  the  "  Fatherland," 
stopping  eacli  night  in  a  new  place  for  a  new 
meeting,  1  liavo  kept  my  eyes  open  for  hints 
and  suggestions  that  might  be  of  use  in  the 
Itnme-land  aciuss  the  sea. 

It  is  needless,  perhaps,  to  say  that  there  are 
many  things  in  our  religious  life  that  I  believe  it 
would  be  vastly  advantageous  to  our  friends 
here  to  copy,  and  some  things  here  that  I 
should  not  wish  to  see  copied  at  home ;  for  in- 
stance, the  big  mugs  of  foaming  beer  and  the 
lighted  cigars  over  which  Christian  Endeavor  is 
often  discussed  by  the  ministers  and  the  young 
men  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
of  Germany. 

However,  I  have  not  come  in  the  role  of  a 
critic,  but  more  as  a  friend  and  admirer  of  the 
land  of  Luther,  to  find  what  good  things  I  can 
learn. 

One  of  these  good  things,  which  I  find  in 
almost  every  city,  is  a  Christian  hotel  or  hospiz, 
as  it  is  called.    Almost  every  city  of  consider- 

73 


,.^--  ^**' 


mmmm 


!f» 


i\yii,iiiKgi!  Lom  ^'^^4v^Si!P(ff!#' W' Wiyw  •     ' 


^  Fdlow  Travellers 

able  Bne  in  Germany  has  a  hospiz.  Often  it 's 
in  connection  with  the  Young  Men's  Cluibtian 
Association  of  the  city.  Sometimes,  as  in  Dres- 
den and  Berlin  and  Stettin,  it  is  a  fine,  large, 
handsomely  furnished  hotel,  which  would  do 
credit  to  any  metropolis.  At  other  times  it  is  a 
more  modest  edifice  ;  but  always  the  rooms  are 
clean,  the  feather  beds,  under  which  one  sleeps 
without  any  intervening  upper  sheet,  are  warm 
and  downy,  and  the  fare  is  abundant  and  sub- 
stantial. In  every  room  is  a  Bible,  and 
Scripture  mottoes  and  pictures  of  Bible  scenes 
adorn  the  walls. 

The  price  asked  is  not  particularly  cheap; 
but  neither  is  it  high,  and  you  feel  that  you  are 
getting  all  you  pay  for.  The  servants  are 
allowed  to  take  no  fees,  which  of  itself  is  a 
great  relief  to  a  travelling  American.  Every 
morning,  at  eight  or  half  past,-  prayers  are  held 
for  fifteen  minutes  in  the  salon,  which  are  at- 
tended by  all  the  servants  and  by  as  many  of 
the  guests  as  desire  to  go. 

Why  should  not  such  hotels  bo  established  in 
all  our  cities?  The  travelling  Christian  public 
must  be  far  larger  in  America  than  in  Germany, 
and  many  persons  would  patronize  such  a 
hospiz  if  it  were  well  kept  and  could  compete 
in  prices  with  the  ordinary  hotels  of  the  city. 
I  do  not  mean  a  cheap  and  shjibby  boarding- 
house,  of  doubtful  cleanliness  and  more  than 


"^^HWriBMI 


■■■i 


German  Things  Worth  Copying     75 

doubtful  comfort,  such  as  are  some  of  our  so- 
called  "  temperance  hotels,"  but  a  genuine,  self- 
respectiug,  first-class,  reasonable-priced  hotel.  I 
believe  that  such  a  hospiz  would  be  a  financial 
success  as  well  as  a  boon  for  the  religious  pub- 
lic. Who  will  be  the  first  to  attempt  the  ven- 
ture in  America? 

Another  thing  that  I  have  liked  in  Germany 
is  the  larger  use  of  religious  pictures  and 
statues  than  we  are  accustomed  to  at  home. 
There  are  two  works  of  art  of  which  I  see 
copies  in  almost  every  home  that  I  enter  in 
Germany,  whether  rich  or  poor,  high  or  low. 
One  is  a  reproduction  of  Thorwaldsen  s  beauti- 
ful statue  of  Christ,  the  original  of  which 
stands  in  the  old  Frue  Kirke  in  Copenhagen ; 
and  the  other  is  a  copy  of  Plockhorst's  beauti- 
ful painting  of  "  Christ  the  Consoler,"  in  which 
our  Lord  is  represented  in  a  wonderfully  gra- 
cious and  benignant  attitude,  reaching  down  to 
help  a  poor,  burdened  sinner  who  drags  himself 
to  his  feet.  No  words  can  describe  the  pathetic 
charm  of  this  picture,  or  the  gracious  dignity 
of  the  statue. 

Sometimes  the  reproduction  is  very  small 
and  cheap,  and  costs  but  a  few  pfennigs.  At 
other  times  it  is  a  large  and  finished  produc- 
tion, costing  many  marks.  Such  a  picture  and 
such  a  statue  would  prove  a  benediction  in  every 
home.   The  sweet  and  gentle  eyes  would  follow 


tmmim 


ii.M*  ''ii«i.»««iir  w  I'll'  .il»iiii.ri.ir<W^..- 


1    ! 


76 


Fellow  Travellers 


U8  about  our  tasks  through  the  day,  and  would 
make  more  real  the  presence  that  is  not  far 
from  every  one  of  us.  There  are,  of  course, 
many  other  famous  religious  pictures,  of  which 
photogr  '^piiic  reproductions  could  be  had  for  a 
very  small  sum,  which  would  greatly  beautify 
our  homes  and  in  many  instances  raise  the 
whole  tone  of  family  life. 

Another  custom  that   I  have   liked  in  the 
family  life  of  Germany  is  the  almost  universal 
returning  of  thanks  alter  meals  in  addition  to 
grace  before  meat.    I  like  also  the  custom  of 
having  each  one  at  the  end  of  the  meal  shake 
hands  with  every  other,  and  say,  "  Gesegnete 
Mahlzeit,"  a    contraction    for  "Ich  wiinsche 
Ihnen  gesegnete  Mahlzeit,"  which  being  inter- 
preted means,   "  May   the  dinner  agree  with 
you,"  or  "  I  wish  you  a  good  dinner,"  or  "  a 
good  appetite."     Often  the  father  and  mother 
and  children  kiss  one  another,  making  it  an  ex- 
pression of  family  affection  as  well  as  a  mere 
formal  greeting.    Sometimes  the  whole  family 
together  with  invited  guests  join  hands  around 
the    table,  while    they  say  to   one    another, 
"  Gesegnete  Mahlzeit."     Even  at  the  boarding- 
house  where  I  am  lodging,  as  each  one  of  the 
many  boarders  comes  into  the  dining-room,  he 
salutes  the  others  with  a  pleasant  "  Mahlzeit," 
and  on  going  out  once  more  "  Mahlzeits  "  every- 
body. 


f- 


tmtimtm 


German  Things  Worth  Copying     77 

One  more  custom  of  German  life,  of  which  I 
will  speak,  is  a  greater  seeming  reverence  for 
the  word  of  God.  When  the  Scripture  lesson 
is  read  in  church,  the  whole  congregation  rises 
and  stands  throughout  the  reading,  and. again 
when  the  text  is  read.  It  seems  as  if  they  in- 
deed heard  God  speak  to  them,  and  would  do 
him  reverence  by  their  very  attitude.  I  think 
there  is  just  as  much  reverence  for  the  word  of 
God  with  us,  but  we  do  not  have  so  happy  a 
way  of  showing  it. 

At  the  close  of  the  service,  too,  there  is 
always  a  reverent  pause  for  silent  prayer.  This 
custom  many  of  our  churches  at  home  have 

'opted,  but  why  not  all  ?  It  is  certainly  moie 
seemly  and  reverent  than  a  scramble  for  over- 
coats and  overshoes,  and  a  hasty  exit  almost 
before  the  benediction  is  spoken.  I  wish  that 
not  only  every  preaching-service,  but  that  every 
church  prayer  meeting  and  Christiaii  Endeavor 
service,  might  close  with  such  a  quiet  moment 
for  silent  prayer.  Nothing  would  more  conduce 
to  godly  reverence  and  a  fitting  impression  of 
the  sanctity  of  the  time  and  place. 


..<j,lWWU|l,ll!,l 


""WWWH'SPI?' 


XIII 


NAPLES  BY   NIGHT 

From  Germany  our  duties  in  behalf  of  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  called  us  to  India  and  Africa  via 
the  Land  of  the  Pyrauiids.    One  of  the  most 
interesting  cities  that  can  be  visited  on  the  long 
journey  from  Berlin  to  Alexandria  is  Naples,  our 
port  of  embarkation  for  the  Orient.     Whether 
Naples  ia  more  picturesque  by  day  or  by  night, 
it  is  difficult  to  determine.     Arriving  very  early 
in  the  morning,  expecting  a  little  later  the  same 
day  to  take  the  steamer  of  the  Florio  Uubbatiuo 
Company  for  Egypt,  I  was  coolly  informed,  after 
several    hours    of   anxious   waiting,  that  the 
"Adria"  would  not  sail  until  the  next  day, 
twenty-four  hours  after  her  advertised  time  ;  so 
I  had  a  chance  to  see  Naples  by  night  as  well 
as  by  day. 

To  tell  the  truth,  she  ia  interesting  enough  in 
any  hour  of  the  twenty-lour  to  make  even  a 
forced  sojourn  quite  endurable. 

I  know  a  small  boy  who  in  going  through  tho 
streets  of  Naples  just  at  dawn  would  remark, 
"It's  funny  how  many  queer  things  you  see 
when  you  have  n't  got  your  gun."     So  it  iH. 

The  city  ia  not  stirring,  though  it  i«  almost 

78 


Naples  by  Night 


79 


l)road  daylight,  for  the  Nenpolitans  are  late 
risers ;  but  it  is  very  evidently  the  milkmaira 
hour.  Here  he  is,  out  in  full  force ;  and  here 
are  his  living  milk-carts,  which  he  drives  before 
him.  No  dead  thing  of  wood  and  iron  is  his 
milk-cart,  but  a  flock  of  long-haired,  big-uddered 
goats,  which  have  been  trained  docilely  to  turn 
into  any  back  alley  or  through  any  narrow 
doorway  when  he  gives  the  word  of  command. 

Moreover,  iils  milk-carts  have  the  advantage 
of  being  quite  able  and  willing  tu  mount  a  steep 
flight  of  stairs  to  the  upper  story  where  their 
cargo  is  often  discharged.  Sometimes  the  milk- 
man drives  a  cow  instead  of  a  flock  of  shaggy 
goats,  and,  whenever  he  is  hailed  and  handed  a 
receptacle,  he  fills  it  directly  from  the  natural 
fount.  These  milkmen  get  very  expert,  and  I 
have  seen  one  with  the  greatest  dexterity  filling 
a  long-necked,  narrow-mouthed  pint  bottle  with- 
out losing  a  drop. 

Of  course  there  must  be  some  one  to  receive 
the  lacteal  fluid,  though  it  is  early  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  and  high  up  on  the  balconies  of  the  tall 
houses,  four  stories  from  the  ground,  you  will 
see  a  frouzy  woman  come  out  with  a  basket,  a 
tumbler,  and  a  long  rope.  In  the  basket  she 
will  place  her  tumbler,  to  its  handle  tie  the 
rope,  and  by  this  means  lower  her  receptacle  to 
the  ground.  The  milkman  will  take  out  the 
tumbler  and  the  few  centesimi  which  the  basket 


!i^ 


•  ""-"•--  ~"-^^-^^' 


,^/t/fUt ' 

3WW 


II  iiiiiilrniiirai 


80  Fellow  Travellers 

al80  contains,  and  fill  the  glass  to  the  brim, 
when  the  maid  will  pull  it  up  to  the  top  again. 
But  Naples  is  beginning  to  wake,  and  it  is  an 
awakening  indeed ;  for  among  all  noisy  cities  in 
the  world,  I  believe  she  wUl  take  the  palm. 
With  the  first  yawn  and  stretch  every  one  in 
Naples  seems  to  begin  to  yell  (there  is  no  other 
word  for  it),  and  keeps  up  this  lung-splitting 

exercise  until  midnight  brings  partial  repose. 

The  cabbies  are  perhaps  the  greatest  sinners 
ii>  this  respect.    If  they  spy  a  possible  fare  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  away,  they  begin  to  shout  at 
him  to  attract  his  attention,  and  crack  their 
long  whips  in  a  most  vicious  and  irritating  way. 
In  the  populous  streets  it  seems  as  if  a  succes- 
sion of  pistol-shots  were  going  off  around  your 
ears  from  dawn  to  dark.    The  shoeblacks  seek 
to  attract  your  attention  by  pounding  vigor- 
ously on  their  blocks ;  the  fruit-sellers  bawl  out 
their  wares  in  the  manner  that  has  been  made 
;  so  familiar  by  their  countrymen  at  home ;  the 

I  dealers  in  prickly-pears  shout  out  the  virtues  of 

I  their  luscious  fruit;  tha  venders  of  hot  chest- 

1  nuts  scream  a  description  of  their  warm  and 

i  mealy  "  castaneas  " ;  and  the  newsmen,  for  boys 

^  evidently  have    not  lung  power  enough  for 

this  trade,  split    your  ears  with  ««Roma-a," 

"  Tribunaa,"  etc.,  with  the  last  syllable  always 

indefinitely  prolonged  and  emphasized. 

When  all  these  venders  gather  together  un- 


.  ,,i.Mn«n  «n.,.i.pmiiiiiM.ii»W'-ii  ilJWMWIMHWWIMWMilWHiMMBWi 


mm 


^ 


T 


Naples  by  Night 


81 


der  the  great  dome  of  the  beaxit  ful  Victor 
Emmanuel  arcade  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  and 
the  lofty  arches  ring  with  the  varied  yells,  the 
pandemonium-like  effect  is  indescribable.  Babel 
becomes  a  living  reality. 

The  narrow  lanes  of  Naples,  many  of  them 
mere  flights  of  stone  steps  leading  from  the 
lower  town  to  the  upper,  are  fearfully  dirty, 
but  exceedingly  picturesque.  Here  everything 
is  going  on.  Boys  are  sleeping  on  the  sidewalk 
in  long  rows.  Women  are  cooking  the  dinner 
in  bubbling  caldrons  of  hot  oil.  Others  are 
combing  their  children's  heads  most  attentively 
and  minutely,  as  monkeys  are  often  seen  to 
treat  their  offspring.  In  fact,  the  "Naples 
hunt "  is  always  in  progress.  Shoemakers  are 
cobbling  most  disreputable  old  scraps  of  leather, 
which  bear  some  resemblance  to  shoes.  Fish- 
wives are  dispensing  mussels  and  snails  and  live 
eels.  Gardeners  are  disposing  of  leeks,  onions, 
and  garlic.  Tailors  are  plying  their  trade.  All 
kinds  of  hucksters  are  peddling  small  wares. 
Families  are  eating  dinner.  Wayfarers  are 
gorging  themselves  with  vermicular-looking 
edibles  at  the  macaroni  stands.  In  fact,  every- 
thing that  one  can  imagine  is  taking  place  here 
in  the  broad  glare  and  publicity  of  the  hot 
Italian  sun. 

But  my  title  promises  some  night  scenes  of 
Napleef,  and  I  find  the  daylight  view  so  interest- 


82 


Fellow  Travellers 


ing  that  I  have  little  room  left  for  a  Gerard 
Dow  picture,  even  if  I  could  paint  one. 

At  night,  however,  Naples  is  very  much  the 
same  as  bj  day,  only  more  so.  The  noises,  the 
gay,  half-barbaric  costumes  of  the  women,  the 
glare  of  the  innumerable  flares  that  mark  the 
provision -booths  and  little  shops,  are  only 
emphasized  and  not  subdued  by  the  deepening 
of  the  early  twilight. 

Now  come  with  me  to  this  open  street  that 
skirts  the  harbor,  and  look  off  toward  that 
black,  towering  con--  that  rears  itself  beyond 
the  bay.  I  do  not  need  to  tell  you  that  it  is 
dread  Vesuvius. 

We  have  been  to  look  at  it  many  times  dur- 
ing the  day ;  but  by  daylight  only  a  cloud  of 
smoke  can  be  seen  issuing  from  the  crater  at 
the  peak,  while  from  several  cracks  along  the 
side  wreaths  of  steam  arise.  But  at  night  it 
presents  a  grander  and  more  awful  spectacle. 

The  crescent  moon  reveals  the  pillar  of  smoke 
that  continually  belches  from  the  mighty  mon- 
ster's bowels,  and  is  not  bright  enough  to  dim 
the  glowing  patch  of  burning  lava,  which,  like 
a  huge  figure  seven  r^  turned  the  wrong 
way,  quivers,  and  ^  throbs  and  scin- 
tillates in  the  still  night  air.  That  glowing 
figure  seven  ia  a  vast  river  of  molten  lava,  more 
than  a  mile  long,  two  hundred  yards  broad,  and 
thirty  feet  deep,  which  was  made  by  an  erup- 


Naples  by  Night 


83 


tion  only  a  few  months  since.  What  a  hint 
does  it  give  us  of  the  mighty  pent-up  forces, 
which  once  in  a  while  break  their  bounds,  just 
as  they  did  two  thousand  years  ago  when 
Pompeii  and  Herculaneum  slept  peacefully,  un- 
suspecting of  evil,  at  the  mountain's  foot !  You 
cannot  see  them;  but  there  they  lie,  those 
buried,  silent  cities  of  the  plain,  such  a  contrast 
to  the  gay,  noisy,  brilliant  Naples  but  half  a 
score  of  miles  away.  There  they  have  lain, 
under  their  cerements  of  lava  and  ashes,  for 
nearly  twenty  centuries,  and  only  one  corner  of 
the  winding-sheet  has  yet  been  lifted. 

As  from  Naples  we  look  at  the  great  moun- 
tain in  the  gloaming  with  the  fiery  gash  glow- 
ing on  its  side,  and  think  of  the  silent  cities 
that  lie  buried  above  its  pulsating  heart,  we  can 
better  understand  than  ever  before  why  this 
destruction  may  have  come.  Naples  to-day,  as 
always,  is  full  of  all  kinds  of  pimps  and  pro- 
curers, and  lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort.  Si- 
lent witnesses  unearthed  at  Pompeii  show  that 
she  was  far  worse  than  modern  Naples,  and 
that  her  corruption  was  putrescent  in  its  rot- 
tenness. Who  will  dare  to  say  that  there  is  no 
connection  between  God's  fiery  cinders  and 
man's  utter  corruption  ? 

Turn  t6  the  other  side  of  the  harbor,  and  you 
will  see  Puteoli,  barely  three  miles  distant, 
where  Paul  landed  after  his  long  and  stormy 


. .,>■' 


^•»«»  ^T^tV':}^  >-'y# 


7  — 'n-V***Wt5.' 


84 


Fellow  Travellers 


journey  about  this  time  of  year.  He  took  "a 
ship  of  Alexandria"  for  Italy.  To-morrow  I 
expect  to  take  a  ship  of  Italy  for  Alexandria, 
over  the  same  seas.  May  the  bumble  disciple 
not  have  so  long,  boisterous,  and  adventurous 
a  voyage  as  the  great  apostle. 


1 

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i'ia, 
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XIV 

THE  OLDEST  AND  THE  YOUNGEST; 
Or,  Chrittian  Endeavor  in  tAe  Land  of  the  PjframidM 

The  oldest  civilization  in  the  world  and  the 
youngest  Christian  organization  in  the  world 
have  met  together ;  Egypt  and  Christian  En- 
deavor have  kissed  each  other,  to  adopt  the 
Oriental  imagery  of  this  country. 

Here,  under  the  very  eyes  of  the  "  far-seeing 
Sphinx,"  I  find  a  Christian  Endeavor  welcome 
and  the  Christian  Endeavor  spirit. 

At  last  "  forty  centuries  look  down  "  on  this 
child  of  less  than  sixteen  winters. 

The  foster-parent  of  Christian  Endeavor  in 
Egypt,  who  has,  so  to  speak,  acclimatized  the 
Society  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs,  is  the 
Egyptian  mission  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church  of  America.  Some  two  years  ago,  the 
first  society  was  started,  and  now  there  are 
three  or  four  societies,  including  at  least  one 
Junior  society  at  Asyoot,  a  long  way  up  the 
Nile,  where  is  one  of  the  chief  stations  of  the 
board.  But  especially  to  Dr.  White  and  Miss 
Thompson  of  this  mission  should  the  thanks  of 
all  Christian  Endeavorers  be  given  for  intro- 

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86 


Fellow  Travellers 


?• 


ducing  the  Society  and  watching  over  its  in- 
terests. 

I  had  but  two  days  in  Cairo  altogether,  but 
I  had  scarcely  been  there  two  hours  when  I 
was  surprised  and  delighted  to  receive  a  visit 
from  four  Christian  Endeavorers, — Dr.  White 
and  Rev.  Mr.  Reed  of  the  mission,  Rev.  Mr. 
Lewis  of  America,  and  a  young  man  from 
Cook's  tourist  office  who  is  a  stanch  member  of 
the  Society,  thus  setting  an  example  to  many 
another  young  business  man  in  a  far  land. 
They  informed  me  that  I  was  ♦•  billed  "  for  an 
address  the  next  night  in  the  mission  church 
under  the  auspices  of  **  the  Christian  Endeavor 
society  of  Cairo." 

This  is  the  English-speaking  society,  and,  as 
befits  a  cosmopolitan  city  like  Cairo,  where  the 
ends  of  the  earth  come  together,  it  is  a  very 
cosmopolitan  society.  Americans,  English, 
Scotch,  Irish,  Welsh,  Austrians,  Egyptians,  and 
I  do  not  know  how  many  other  races,  make  up 
its  membersliip.  Its  meetings  are  held  Satur- 
day afternoon,  just  before  an  English  preaching- 
service,  to  which,  of  course,  its  members  ad- 
journ. The  meetings  are  well  attended,  spir- 
ited, and  spiritual. 

On  the  night  of  the  public  meeting  about  a 
hundred  and  fifty  came  together,  including  the 
members  of  the  Girls'  Christian  Endeavor  So- 
ciety of  the  mission.    I  was  kindly  introduced 


its  iu- 

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El  visit 
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1 


The  Oldest  and  the  Youngest       87 

by  Dr.  Harvey,  one  of  the  veteran  miasionaries 
of  Egypt;  and,  as  the  whole  audience  under- 
stood English,  I  did  not  have  to  struggle  with 
an  interpreter,  or  an  interpreter  with  me. 

Let  me  congratulate  the  young  people  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church  of  America  on 
having  such  a  splendid  mission  as  the  *'  mission 
in  Egypt "  to  work  for,  pray  for,  and  give  to. 
In  all  the  world  around  I  do  not  know  of  an- 
other mission  that  has  been  more  signally 
blessed  of  God.  Practically  it  has  the  whole 
of  Egypt  for  its  field,  as  there  is  little  done  by 
any  otlier  society,  and  nobly  has  it  seen  and 
grasped  its  opportunity.  It  has  42  missionaries 
on  the  field,  401  native  workers,  more  than  600 
church  members,  more  than  11,000  pupils  gath- 
ered in  161  schools. 

Moreover,  the  nat^'es  themselves  are  taught 
to  give,  as  well  as  to  pray  and  work,  and  Dr. 
Harvey  told  me  that  there  were  in  the  mission 
more  than  400  Egyptian  tithe  givers.  How  is 
that  for  an  example  to  Christian  Endeavorers 
at  home  ?  I  wonder  whether  the  Tenth  Legion 
of  New  York  City  will  not  admit  these  Egyp- 
tian brethren  as  affiliated  members. 

Well  may  the  United  Presbyterian  Endeav- 
orers feel  a  generous  pride  in  this  mission. 
May  they  hold  in  their  memories  and  prayers 
the  veterans.  Dr.  Watson  and  Dr.  Harvey  and 
Dr.  Griffin  and  Dr.  Murch  of  Cp'ro,  as  well  as 


MMHM 


88 


Fellow  Travellers 


the  many  young  missionaries,  and  also  those  in 
other  pa'ts  of  Egypt  whom  I  did  not  meet; 
and  by  their  prayers  and  their  gifts  may  they 
support  this  work  more  and  more  generously. 


e  m 
eet; 
they 


XV 

A  X7NIVEESITY  WHEBB  "THE  SUN  DO  MOVE" 

This  university  is  in  Cairo,  and  it  is  the 
largest  in  the  world.  Harvard  and  Yale,  Ox- 
ford and  Cambridge,  even  Berlin  and  Halle, 
must  yield  the  palm  for  numbers  to  the  uni- 
versity of  El  Azhar  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs. 

During  a  recent  visit  to  Cairo  I  went  through 
this  university,  accompanied  by  a  newly  ar- 
rived missionary,  and  with  a  fair  Cairo  Chris- 
tian Endeavorer  for  guide. 

Let  me  try  to  take  my  readers  there  to-day. 
We  started  from  the  substantial  and  commodi- 
ous mission  house  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Board  in  an  open  carriage  driven  by  a  most 
irascible  Arab  "  cabby." 

While  in  the  broader  streets,  where  he  had 
room  enough  to  flourish  and  crack  his  whip  to 
his  heart's  content,  he  uttered  no  expletives; 
but  soon  he  turned  into  a  narrow  street  in  the 
native  quarter,  and  then  into  a  still  narrower 
one  with  overhanging  booths  on  each  side, 
where  the  butcher  and  fez-maker,  the  barber 
and  the  potato-seller,  were  plying  their  trade 
in  the  broad  glare  of  day.  Then  into  a  still 
narrower  street  he  turned,  where  two  people 


I 


t 


90 


Fellow  Travellers 


joining  hands  could  touch  the  walls  on  each 
side.  ?,  3 

A  ragged  camel  with  a  huge  bundle  of  brush 
fire-wood  blocked  our  Jehu's  way  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  he  cried  out  in  classic  Arabic,  as  he 
shook  his  fist  at  the  offending  camel-driver, 
"Get  out  of  the  way,  you  dog,  you  son  of  a 
dog,  you  grandson  of  a  dog." 

We  looked  to  see  the  camel-driver  square  off 
at  his  antagonist  in  true  Anglo-Saxon  style. 
He  did  notiiing  of  the  sort,  but  simply  hurled 
back  some  equally  offensive  epithets,  and  pro- 
peeded  placidly  on  his  way. 

Then  came  a  donkey  boy,  athwart  the  road, 
the  hair  of  his  gray  donkey  beautifully  tat- 
tooed with  all  sorts  of  geometrical  figures. 
Our  driver  took  special  umbrage  at  the  pre- 
sumption of  a  donkey-boy  in  blocking  his 
way,  and  cried  out, "  May  your  eyes  be  blasted, 
and  may  your  mother  go  blind,  and  your  grand- 
mother, and  all  your  relatives ;  out  of  the  way, 
you  pig."  The  donkey-boy  gave  him  back  as 
good  as  he  sent,  or  as  bad,  rather ;  and  after 
this  vituperative  fusillade  was  over  we  edged 
our  way  a  few  paces  nearer  the  mosque  for 
which  we  were  bound.  Such  cries  as  these, 
many  of  them  too  vile  for  translation,  are  echo- 
ing all  over  the  city  of  the  caliphs,  from  dawn 
to  dusk,  from  every  alley  and  court. 

At  length  our  driver  could  go  no  further. 


li' 


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A  University 


9» 


*<f 


The  narrow,  filthy  street  became  absolutely  im- 
passable, and  we  walked  the  few  remaining 
yards  to  the  university. 

When  I  speak  of  a  "  university,"  dear  reader, 
do  not  conjure  up  to  yourself  a  Chicago  or  a 
Princeton,  with  vast  buildings,  extensive  dormi- 
tories, Gothic  chapels,  and  the  like.  Neither  are 
there  here  orderly  classrooms,  desks,  or  forms, 
or  any  of  the  paraphernalia  of  a  university  to 
which  we  are  accustomed. 

The  first  demand  made  upon  us,  as  we 
stepped  within  the  carved  portal,  was  to  take 
off  our  shoes ;  or,  if  jve  would  not  do  that,  to 
put  on  a  pair  of  huge  felt  slippers,  in  which  we 
went  skating  and  sliding  over  the  slippery 
mats. 

As  we  entered  the  doorway,  a  number  of  the 
students  came  rushing  out,  some  little  fellows 
not  more  than  a  dozen  years  old  (for  the  full 
course  occupies  eight  or  ten  years,  and  they 
will  be  full-grown  men  before  they  are  through), 
others  already  well  on  toward  middle  age.  The 
majority,  however,  seemed  to  be  eighteen  or 
twenty  years  old,  about  the  age  of  our  college 
boys  at  home. 

Entering  the  next  room  of  the  mosque,  we 
were  fairly  in  the  midst  of  them,  in  the  most 
literal  sense  of  the  term,  for  they  were  squatted 
on  the  floor  in  little  groups,  each  numbering 
from  six  to  thirty,  and  it  was  with  difficulty 


f-''( 


■Vv,| 


93 


Fellow  Travellers 


that  we  avoided  treading  on  some  outstretched 
figure.  Many  of  them  were  studying  aloud  in 
u  singsong,  nasal  tone,  swaying  their  bodies 
back  and  forth  with  a  rhythniicul  swing,  in 
order  to  give  proper  elasticity  to  their  minds. 

What  a  Babel  it  made !  A  thousand  stu* 
dents  in  this  one  hall,  perhaps,  each  one  of  them 
apparently  trying  to  outshout  his  neighbor,  in 
his  eagerness  to  beat  some  knotty  portion  .of 
the  Koran  into  his  own  unwilling  brain. 

Many  of  the  groups,  however,  had  a  pro- 
fessor in  the  midst,  who  sat  cross-legged  on  a 
1  ittle  raised  dais,  while  the  students  squatted 
around  him  on  every  side.  Bright  and  Intel- 
ligciit  men  were  many  of  these  professors. 
They  seemed  to  be  asking  questions,  to  which 
the  students  would  shout  the  answers  at  the 
top  of  their  voices,  each  eager  to  get  ahead  of 
his  companions  in  vociferation.  Some  of  the 
teachers,  however,  were  evidently  giving  lec- 
tures, while  the  students  took  copious  notes. 

Ah  we  entered  one  hall  of  the  mosque,  where 
an  unusually  large  circle  of  boys  was  gathered 
around  a  professor,  our  ears  were  greeted  by 
an  unmistakable  hiss;  and  then  another  took 
it  up,  and  another,  until  all  in  the  room  were 
giving  vent  to  the  same  sibilant  reproach,  and 
it  seemed  as  if  a  thousand  geese  were  craning 
their  necks  for  a  long,  strong  hiss-s-s-s-s. 

I  have  frequently  heard  vigorous  demonstra- 


't  f 


■•■■—■.■•If-***-  .i.-.  ?•  ■^^r-'t:*  T  ■ 


ched 
lid  in 
Ddies 
i,  in 
ds. 

BtU« 

them 
>r,  in 
9n.of 

pro- 
on  a 
ntted 
Intel- 
mors, 
rhioh 
;  the 
nd  of 
f  the 
;  lec- 

38. 

^here 
lered 
d  by 
took 
were 
,  and 
ining 

istra- 


'I  > 


01 


A  University 


93 


tions  of  another  sort  from  Christian  Endeavor 
audiences  in  different  lands,  but  it  was  my  first 
experienue  of  such  vigorous  expressions  of  dis- 
approval. Not  being  aware  of  having  com- 
mitted any  offence  worthy  of  such  emphatic 
condemnation,  I  asked  my  fair  guide  what  it 
all  meant.  She  said  we  were  taken  for  English 
people,  and  that  the  university  students  bore  a 
grudge  against  us,  because  the  English  author- 
ities, on  the  appearance  of  the  cholera  and  the 
finding  of  some  dead  bodies  within  the  uni- 
versity, had  insisted,  most  wisely,  on  some  san- 
itary measures,  on  the  cleansing  of  the  Augean 
stable,  and  the  closing  of  some  portions  of  the 
university.  Our  ru£9ed  feelings  were  soothed 
by  this  explanation,  since  we  felt  that,  like  so 
many  better  men  before  us,  we  were  hissed  in 
a  good  cause.  . 

So  we  passed  on  through  room  after  room  of 
this  vast  mosque.  In  every  one  was  the  same 
sort  of  groups  of  red-fezzed,  squatting  figures, 
boisterously  conning  their  books. 

What  is  studied  in  this  strange  university,  do 
you  ask?  The  question  can  be  answered  in 
two  words,— "The  Koran."  To  be  sure,  the 
Arabic  language,  grammar,  rhetoric,  lo^ic,  and 
even  jurisprudence,  all  have  their  place  here, 
but  only  that  the  Koran  may  be  understood 
more  completely.  Everything  for  the  Moham- 
medan centres  around  this  book,  which  has  so 


94 


Fellow  Travellers 


mightily  affected  the  destiny  of  millions  of  our 
fellow  mortals. 

In  the  Bohools  of  lower  grade,  too,  the  Koran 
is  the  one  object  of  study.  The  boy,  after 
learning  to  read,  learns  the  first  chapter  by 
heart,  and  then  the  last,  and  then  the  last  but 
one,  and  so  on  in  reverse  order.  "  Although 
the  language  is  often  difficult  and  obscure,  no 
explanations  are  given,  so  that  the  boy  who 
knows  the  whole  book  by  heart  usually  under- 
stands but  little  of  it.  As  soon  as  the  boy  has 
learned  the  whole  of  the  Koran,  his  education 
is  finished ;  and  the  completion  of  his  studies 
is  commemorated  by  the  celebration  of  tho 
Khatnich,  a  family  festival,  to  which  the  school- 
master is  invited." 

Even  in  the  highest  univers'^y  of  all,  which 
I  have  described,  no  science,  no  natural  history, 
no  mathematics,  is  studied.  "The  sun  do 
move,"  is  still  the  belief  of  the  devout  Mussul- 
man. For  aught  I  know,  he  still  thinks  the 
earth  rests  on  a  huge  turtle,  ytiih  a  vast  canopy 
of  brass  overhead.  The  power  of  electricity  is 
still  conjurer's  magic  to  him,  and  the  Koran  is 
the  beginning  and  end  of  his  education. 

After  all,  in  spite  of  this  superstition,  igno- 
rance, and  density,  is  there  not  a  lesson  here 
for  Western  Christians?  The  faith  of  Islam 
is  still  a  mighty  factor  in  the  world  to  be  reck- 
oned with.    It  rules  the  lives  of  untold  mil- 


A  University 


H 


lions.  A  Mohammedan  convert  to  Christianity 
18  the  rarest  of  converts.  Why?  Because  he 
knows  his  sacred  book.  It  is  all  in  all  to  him. 
How  may  we  make  more  steadfast,  faithful 
Christians  ?  Let  us  take  a  leaf  from  the  history 
ot  the  Moslem  ;  study  our  sacred  Book  as  he 
studies  the  false  prophet.  Our  Bible  will  not 
displace  or  dispute  true  science,  but  it  alone 
will  make  stalwart  Christians. 


"'^lS®^^S^!|*''" 


XVI 

CONCERNING  MANY  THINGS  ON  SEA  AND  SHOBE 

I  AM  writing  at  Ahmednuggur,  in  western 
India ;  and,  as  I  write,  the  firing  of  big  guns, 
and  tlie  rattle  of  musketry,  and  the  blare  of 
brass  bands  from  the  British  parade-ground,  re- 
mind me  that  it  is  the  first  day  of  the  year, 
while  the  hideous  din  of  a  Hindu  wedding 
that  is  taking  place  under  my  window  forcibly 
tells  me  that  I  am  in  a  heathen  land. 

But  through  the  open  window  with  the  early 
morning  light  comes  the  sweet,  cool  air  of  an 
Indian  winter's  morning,  a  morning  like  our 
rarest  days  in  June,  reminding  me  that,  what- 
ever the  din  of  war  or  of  heathenism,  the  atmos- 
phere of  God  still  envelops  this  old  world. 

"  God'    in  his  heaven ; 
All's  right  with  the  world." 

After  leaving  the  Christian  Endeavorers  of 
Cairo  we  steamed  through  the  Suez  Canal,  and 
down  the  hot  Red  Sea  for  five  days,  and  then 
across  the  Indian  Ocean  for  five  days  more,  in 
the  teeth  of  a  strong  northeast  monsoon,  which 
somewhat  delayed  our  good  ship. 

I  use  the  plural  "  we  "  with  the  understand- 


■*  ^jFgyJHiaiMMilliWIMMliaiM Wa^iiM)  JMg^  g 


Things  on  Sea  and  Shore  97 

ing  that  you  are  all  taking  the  journey  with 
me,  though  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  only  the 
, singular  and  melancholy  "I"  that  embarked, 
and  one  ticket  answers  for  us  all.  The  travel- 
ling companion  of  many  voyages  could  not  go 
with  me  on  this  long  journey ;  so  that  in  my 
loneliness  I  make  the  more  of  your  imaginary 
companionship.  However,  there  were  on  the 
Valetta  no  less  than  ten  Christian  Endeavorers, 
(where  will  you  not  find  Christian  Endeavorers 
in  these  days  ?)  and  we  had  a  delightful  meet- 
ing on  the  Sunday  evening  of  our  voyage  on 
the  Red  Sea. 

Two  of  the  Endeavorers  were  from  Illinois, 
one  from  Ohio,  one  from  Missouri,  two  from 
Canada,  two  from  Australia,  one  from  Massa- 
chusetts, and  one  from  England,— a  cosmopoli- 
tan  Endeavor  meeting,  you  see.  Several  were 
coming  as  missionaries  to  India  and  Ceylon. 

Sunday  noon,  December  27,  in  the  broiling 
heat  of  Indian  midday  we  landed  at  Bombay. 
Sad  indeed  is  the  condition  of  this  great  city, 
the  second  city  in  population  in  the  British 
Empire.  One  hundred  cases  a  day  of  bubonic 
plague  (the  old  Black  Death  that  depopulated 
London  in  tho  seventeenth  century) ;  nearly  as 
many  deaths;  little  disinfecting  fire?  burning 
on  the  sidewalk  before  many  of  the  houses, 
showing  that  death  is  within;  the  burning 
ghats   blazing   night  and  day;   one  hundred 


m. 


■n 


98 


Fellow  Travellers 


I 


bodies  waiting  for  cremation  at  a  stDgle  creira> 
tory  ;  peopio  fleeing  from  the  city  by  the  ten 
thousand  by  every  railway ; — «uch,  in  a  sen- . 
tence,  is  tfa^  story  of  the  great  plagae  of  1896- 
97. 

These  vords  have  acquired  a  new  significance 
to  me  of  late :  "  There  shall  no  evil  befall 
thee,  neithei  shall  any  plague  come  nigh  thy 
dwelling." 

Three  hours  after  landing  I  preached  in  the 
beautiful  Scotch  church  ;  and  a  little  later  the 
same  evening  I  spoke  to  the  Endeavorers  of  the 
American  mission  church.  Connected  wich 
this  church  are  really  five  societies :  one  general 
society  for  the  church,  and  four  Junior  socie* 
ties  for  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  schools.  All 
flourish  under  the  kindly  care  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hume. 

On  account  of  the  plague  the  public  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  meetings  which  had  been  planned 
had  to  be  given  up,  as  the  physicians  advised 
against  all  general  gatherings,  and  my  stay  in 
Bombay  was  shortened  to  less  than  two  days. 

From  Bombay  to  Poonah  is  a  single  night's 
riue  by  train,  and  here  I  was  the  guest  of  Mr. 
Robert  Wilder,  whom  many  of  you  remember 
with  great  s^ection  for  the  missionary  inspira- 
tion he  brought  to  many  of  our  early  conven- 
tiouo.  He  is  doing  a  magnificent  work  for  the 
students  of  India.  .. 


4^ 


irifr'af    irt'irifti  i 


...j.^--:.'-.:^..',i^-^^.^:^^-4u~^\-:^:...^....,.^.^^^^y-^^-^^^^^^  ^  ^^ 


gle  crerra* 
>y  the  tea 
iu  a  sen< , 
s  of  1896- 

gnificance 

ivil  befall 

nigh  thy 

[led  in  the 
)  later  the 
rers  of  the 
Qted  with 
ne  general 
lior  socie- 
ools.  All 
.  and  Mrs. 

)lic  Chris- 
n  planned 
18  advised 
ay  stay  in 
vo  days. 
;le  night's 
3st  of  Mr. 
remember 
y  inspira- 
y  conven- 
rk  for  the 


/*?«W^v<w\i-i-»i,v.-urY<i:»;':.:,>*J'SS!raj45^aj^ 


Things  on  Sea  and  Shore  99 

The  address  was  given  in  the  Soldiers'  Home 
of  Poonah,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Foonah 
Christian  Endeavor  society,  of  which  Mr.  Reed, 
the  earnest  chaplain  of  the  post,  is  the  presi- 
dent. 

After  the  address  two  red-coated  soldiers 
lingered  to  talk  about  their  souls'  salvation  with 
Dr.  Grattan  Guinness,  who  was  also  present. 

It  was  a  most  affecting  scene.  We  all  knelt 
down  on  the  floor,  half  a  dozen  soldiers,  Dr. 
Guinness,  Mr.  Wilder,  Mr.  Reed,  and  myself. 
Some  earnest  prayers  were  offered  for  the  two 
wavering  ones.  They  were  urged  to  commit 
themselves  to  Christ.  At  length,  after  a  long 
pause,  one  of  them  began  to  sing  upon  his 
knees,  with  bowed  head  and  in  a  trembling 
voice : 


«  Lord  Jesus,  I  long  to  be  perfectly  whole ; 
I  want  thee  forever  to  dwell  in  my  soul ; 
Break  down  every  idol,  cast  out  every  foe ; 
Now  wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow." 

Then  the  other  soldier  offered  a  broken, 
earnest  prayer,  and  both  rose  from  the^r  knees, 
saved  men,  I  trust.  Mr.  McBain,  a  noble 
officer,  **  the  father  of  his  regiment,"  on  whose 
breast  gleams  more  than  one  medal  nion  in 
battle  for  his  country,  is  the  secretary  of  this 
society. 


^MPil 


XVII 

A  PLAGUE-STRICKEN  CITY 

It  is  difficult  for  people  who  have  not  seen 
the  plague  face  to  face,  to  realize  that  the  hor- 
rors of  the  scourge  of  the  Middle  Ages  are 
possible  in  this  year  of  our  Lord. 

Where  are  our  doctors  ?  what  are  our  sani- 
tary engineers  doing?  what  has  become  of  the 
plumber,  with  his  traps  and  drains  and  cut-offs 
and  lengthy  bills,— that  all  these  guardians  of 
the  public  health  should  allow  so  terrible  an 
outbreak  of  violent  disease  to  half  depopulate 
one  of  Lhe  greatest  cities  of  the  world,  and 
spread  possible  contagion  to  the  four  quarters 
of  the  globe  ? 

People  looked  for  such  periodical  outbreaks 
in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  but 
we  pityingly  and  patronizingly  speak  of  those 
days  as  the  "  dark  ages "  of  sanitary  science, 
when  plumbers  were  an  unknown  quantity,  and 
medicine  was  but  little  removed  from  the  pow- 
dered snails  and  pellets  of  medicated  frogs'  eyes 
which  the  doctors  of  China  affect  to-day. 

But  this  is  the  incteenth  century,  and  its 
waning  half-decade  at  that ;  this  is  the  age  of 
lymphs  and  serum  and  microbe-destroyers  and 
.100 


'Sihirni 


■t>>iv«iiriiifiiii-iijiiMitti-iitirai 


A  Plague-Stricken  City  loi 


I  not  seen 
t  the  hor- 
Ages  are 

our  sani- 
me  of  the 
id  cut-offs 
irdians  of 
trrible  an 
epopulate 
orld,  and 
'  quarters 

}utbreakB 
uries,  but 

of  those 
r  science, 
ntity,  and 

the  pow- 
rogs'  eyes 

ay- 

',  and  its 
he  age  of 
)yerB  and 


bacteria-fighters ;  this  is  the  age  of  Jenner  and 
Pasteur  and  Koch ;  and  yet,  in  the  presence  of 
such  apestilence  as  that  from  which  Bombay  is 
suffering,  the  doctors  are  at  their  wits'  end,  and 
we  might  apparently  as  well  be  back  in  the  cen- 
tury of  Daniel  Defoe. 

Bombay  is  the  second,  city  in  size  in  the  Brit- 
ish Empire.  Its  nearly  one  million  of  inhabit- 
ants places  it  before  Glasgow,  Liverpool,  Man- 
chester, and  Melbourne,  and  next  to  London 
itself  in  population.  Moreover,  it  is  a  city  not 
only  great  in  size,  but  great  in  commercial  im- 
portance, in  influence  and  enterprise.  It  is  the 
"  Eye  of  India."  Some  of  the  most  imposing 
buildings  in  the  world  are  found  here.  The 
Victoria  Railway  Station,  for  instance,  is  prob- 
ably the  most  magnificent  building  of  its  kind 
on  the  planet.  Euston,  St.  Pancras,  the  great 
station  at  Frankfort  on- the  Main,  the  Grajd 
Central  on  Forty-Second  Street,  and  even  the 
splendid  Union  Terminal  at  St.  Louis,  must 
hide  their  diminished  beads  before  this  queen  of 
railway  stations,  the  Victoria. 

So  also  the  university,  the  post-oflBce,  the 
great  hospitals,  and  the  new  municipal  build- 
ings can  hold  their  own  when  compared  with 
those  of  any  European  or  American  city. 

Moreover,  Bombay  is  probably  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
cosmopoUtiin  cities  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 


1 


'■«?ii|g»jii,  - 


102 


Fellow  Travellers 


The  Eoropean  and  the  Asiatic,  the  ruling  na< 
tion  and  the  subject  races,  '*  plain  "  and  colored, 
black  and  white,  and  all  the  shades  of  tan  and 
brown,  jostle  one  another  in  the  streets  of  Bom- 
bay as  in  no  other  city  in  the  world. 

Here,  in  a  short  walk  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
you  see  the  dignified  Moslem  with  his  long 
puggaree  (just  the  length  of  his  final  winding 
sheet)  wound  around  his  head  into  a  most  be- 
coming turban.  You  see  the  mild-eyed,  hand- 
some, high-caste  Brahman  with  his  orange-and- 
gold  tope.  You  see  the  rich  Parsee  in  his  high 
glazed  hat,  surpassed  in  ugliness  only  by  the 
Englishman's  "  stovepipe."  You  see  the  mod- 
ern belle  in  tailor-made  gown  just  out  from 
Worth's,  and,  side  by  side  with  her  on  the 
street,  a  Parsee  lady,  clad  in  graceful  garments 
of  costly  silk,  a  single  length  swathing  her  in 
its  ample  folds  from  head  to  heels. 

You  will  see  little  Lord  Fauntleroy  with  fair 
flaxen  curls  and  pallid  cheeks,  showing  that  ho 
must  soon  go  back  to  England  to  escape  the 
dreaded  Indian  climate  so  fatal  to  children,  and, 
not  ten  feet  away,  a  little  Indian  lad  and  lass, 
tans  hat,  tans  shoes,  sana  trousers  or  jacket  or 
dress,  as  bare  as  they  came  from  their  Maker, 
— naked  and  not  ashamed. 

Said  a  friend  of  mine  to  me  the  other  day, 
and  I  believe  the  statement  is  true,  "No  one 
could  get  himself  up  in  a  costume  so  bizarre  or 


iii'tiiiiinTiiiiH"affiiif^i"-"'itiM'^  immiift 


■MMMMMiMM 


A  Plague-Stricken  City  103 

fantastic  as  to  cause  an  old  resident  of  Bombay 
to  turn  his  head  or  take  even  a  languid  interest 
in  the  passer-by." 

If  a  man  should  appear  in  Bombay  with  a 
frying-pan  on  his  head  for  a  hat,  a  big  string  of 
beads  on  his  manly  breast  in  lieu  of  a  coat,  a 
barrel-hoop  dependent  from  each  ear,  a  small 
crowbar  stuck  through  his  nose,  one  hip 
swathed  in  red  alico  and  the  other  as  nature 
nade  it,  with  a  pair  of  forty-league  boots  on 
his  feet, — if,  in  this  costume,  he  should  parade 
the  streets  of  Bombay,  he  would  not  be  locked 
up  in  a  lunatic  asylum.  By  no  means!  He 
would  be  considered  one  of  '*our  highly  es- 
teemed fellow-citizens."  No  small  boy  would 
follow  him  with  derisive  hoots;  no  reporter 
would  interview  him  fot  an  extra  edition;  in 
fact,  no  one  would  look  at  him  twice. 

In  such  a  city,  so  diverse  in  its  characteris- 
tics, so  cosmopolitan  in  its  population,  has  the 
bubonic  plague  broken  out.  It  is  the  same  fell 
pestilence  that  depopulated  London.  As  1666 
is  known  as  the  year  of  the  great  plague  in 
London,  so  1897  will  be  known  as  the  great 
plague  year  of  Bombay. 

I  reached  Bombay  on  the  27th  of  December, 
1896,  when  the  plague  was  assuming  its  worst 
type  and  when  the  number  of  deaths  each  day 
was  extremely  large. 

The  view  of  the  city  as  one  enters  the  beau- 


104 


Fellow  Travellers 


tiful  harbor  is  chnrming  in  the  extreme.  Afler 
five  days  on  the  Indian  Ocean  with  nothitig  but 
the  scudding  schools  of  flying-fish  to  break  the 
monotony  of  the  voyage,  and  five  days  previ- 
ously on  the  Red  Sea,  where  the  occasional 
glimpses  of  land  are  terrifically  stern  and  for- 
bidding, one  is  well  prepared  for  the  palm-clad 
shores,  and  for  a  beautiful  modern  city  of  sub- 
stantial business  blocks,  whose  streets  are  lined 
with  noble,  spreading  banyan -trees. 

From  a  distance  it  looks  like  anything  but  a 
plague-stricken  city,  it  must  be  confessed.  Life 
and  not  death  seems  to  have  its  home  here. 
But  one  cannot  be  long  on  shore  without  feel- 
ing the  depression  of  a  place  over  which  the 
angel  of  destruction  is  hovering.  Everywhere 
I  saw  evidences  of  his  presence.  The  closed 
shops,  the  half-deserted  streets,  the  absence  of 
W'^dding  and  festive  processions,  which  usually 
at  this  time  of  year  make  Bombay  a  perfect 
kaleidoscope  of  life  and  color,  all  proclaim  that 
something  is  wrong.  '^' 

But  there  are  more  tangible  signs  of  pesti- 
lence. Here  is  a  hovel  from  whose  roof  all  the 
tiles  have  been  torn  off  to  let  in  the  blessed, 
purifying  sunlight  upon  some  dark,  disease- 
breeding  hole.  In  front  of  a  dozen  houses  in 
tb3  next  street  through  which  we  pass  are  little 
disinfecting  fires  burning,  showing  that  the 
plague  has  come  near  that  dwelling  and  perhaps 


.■^^x.:{,y:,:::adi::AiiiiiLiii,miMhS^^iiA^^^!^4.''^ 


A  Plague-Stricken  City  105 

claimed  half  its  occupants  for  its  own.  Hun- 
dreds of  these  little  sidewalk  fires  are  burning 
all  over  the  city,  pointing  out  the  infected 
houses  to  the  pnsser-by.  They  are  built  of 
short  sticks  of  hard  Tt  ood,  on  which  is  sprinkled 
an  abundant  supply  of  sulphur.  Of  what 
value  this  can  be,  only  the  city  fathers  of  Bom- 
bay know.  The  fumes  cannot  reach  the  houses 
with  any  degree  of  effectiveness,  and,  though 
they  may  disinfect  the  air  to  a  slight  degree  and 
thus  benefit  the  passing  traveller,  the  benefit 
must  be  nearly  infinitesimal. 

But  other  and  more  effective  means  are  era- 
ployed.  Whenever  an  infected  house  is  dis- 
covered it  is  visited  by  a  squad  of  municipal 
officers;  the  furniture  is  cleared  out,  the  bed- 
ding is  burned,  and  the  interior  is  thoroughly 
whitewashed.  In  ii.any  cases,  too,  the  tiles  are 
torn  off  the  roof  to  let  in  the  purifying  sun. 

One  of  the  most  effective  measures  yet  de- 
vised is  the  cutting  off  of  the  water-supply  from 
the  poorer  houses  of  the  infected  district.  In 
the  dark  and  noisome  passageways  where  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  these  people  live,  in  abodes 
little  bigger  than  underground  drains,  the  free 
supply  of  city  water  has  been  a  bane  rather  than 
a  boon.  The  taps  were  always  running  or  drip- 
ping, and  earthen  floors  were  always  damp  and 
soaked  with  filth,  forming  a  very  hotbed  for 
disease.     Of' course  the  people  objected  to  the 


mmmsr" 


11 


106 


Fellow  Trav  Hers 


cutting  off  of  their  water  supply,  and  deep  and 
loud  were  the  grunts  and  growls  against  this 
interference  with  their  rights,  even  ♦,hough  they 
had  only  to  go  out  into  the  street  to  draw  water 
from  the  ever-flowing  pipes.  But  .the  author- 
ities persisted,  and  this  fruitful  source  of  dis- 
ease has  been  removed. 

Another  plan,  tried  to  a  larger  extent,  and  to 
a  degree  successful,  is  the  segregation  of  plague- 
utricken  households.  But  there  is  fierce  and 
bitter  opposition  on  the  part  of  many  of  the 
.  nativbs  to  the  idea  of  segregation.  All  sorts  of 
*  stories  are  rife  among  them  as  to  the  object  of  the 
authorities.  Some  even  think  that  their  hearts 
will  be  plucked  out  and  made  into  charms  by 
which  the  foreign  doctors  hope  to  conjure  away 
the  plague. 

"  Another  scheme  has  been  proposed,  but  as 
yet  has  found  very  little  favor :  it  is  to  draw  a 
cordon  around  the  infected  city,  to  station 
troops  all  along  the  line,  and  to  allow  no  one 
from  Bombay  to  go  beyond  this  boundary.  It 
is  argued,  and  with  a  great  deal  of  reason,  that 
this  would  only  intensify  the  pestilence  in  the 
spots  already  infected,  would  create  an  uncon- 
trollable panic  among  those  who  could  not  get 
away,  and  would  almost  doom  the  city  to  de- 
struction. 

The  causes  to  which  the  more  ignorant  of  the 
population  ascribe  the  plague  are  various;  in 


MKiiiillirt"!!'!"    •iniiiV  I   '   '•"■  ■p'f  »'-'"^-"^- 


A  Plague-Stricken  City  107 


leep  and 
inst  this 
ugh  they 
iw  water 
3  author- 
e  of  dis- 

it,  and  to 
f  plague- 
erce  and 
y  of  the 
1  sorts  of 
act  of  the 
)ir  hearts 
barms  by 
ure  away 

d,  but  as 
to  draw  a 
0  station 
iw  no  one 
dary.  It 
ison,  that 
ice  in  the 
an  u neon- 
id  not  get 
ity  to  de- 
ant  of  the 
irious;  in 


fact,  ultnost  every  cause  except  the  right  one, 
the  filth  and  unsanitary  condition  of  their  city, 
is  assigned.  Some  ascribe  it  to  the  malevolence 
of  their  deities,  and  others  to  the  unfortunate 
conjunction  of  the  stars,  while  still  others,  moGt 
curiously,  have  laid  the  burden  upon  the  af;ed 
shoulders  of  Queen  Victoria.  A  few  months 
ago.  her  beautiful  Jubilee  statue  was  defaced  by 
some  miscreants  with  a  liberal  coating  of  tar. 
This  outrage  was  deplored  by  all  well-meaning 
people,  and  was  denounced  in  the  native  as 
well  as  in  the  English  papers.  But  many  of 
the  people  believe  that  the  apologies  rendered 
at  the  time  were  not  sufBcient,  and  that  now 
the  old  queen  is  visiting  her  wrath  upon  the 
city  that  defiled  her  image. 

A  friend  of  mine  engaged  in  zenana  work 
was  refused  admission  one  day  by  some  01  thtf 
women  who  before  had  always  heartily  wel- 
comed her.  When  she  came  to  learn  the 
cause,  she  found  that  it  was  because  she  was 
supposed  to  be  a  spy  of  the  English  govern- 
ment in  the  service  of  the  queen,  who  had 
come  to  ferret  out  the  misdemeanors  of  the 
people  and  to  punish  with  the  plague  any 
murmuring  against  her  gentle  sway. 

It  can  readily  be  imagined  that  business  is 
suffering  terribly  and  that  many  industries  are 
almost  at  a  standstill.  Master-workmen  cannot 
induce  laborers  to  enter  their  employ.    Cloth- 


MMntKiTMHiiHIPnBR' . 


io8 


Fellow  Travellers 


iA 


ing  housea  and  shoemakers'  bliopa  are  deserted 
by  the  wnrknieii.     Many  factories  have  had  to 
close  thci-'  doors,  and  in  every  branch  of  life 
the  effect  of  the  pestilence  is  felt.    The  gov- 
ernmeut    has    been   compelled  to  issue  very 
stringent  orders  concerning  the  civil  servants, 
threatening  them  with  expulsion  and  with  loss 
of  pension  if  they  yield  to  the  prevailing  panic 
and  leave  the  city.    One  of  the  results  of  the 
plague  is  strange  indeed.     Litigation  has  come 
almost  to  a  standstill.    Case  after  case  is  called, 
we  are  told,  only  to  disclose  the  fact  that  parties 
or  witnesses  are  not  forthcoming.    It  would 
appear  that  the  judges  are  sitting  rather  for  the 
sake  of  setting  an  example  than  for  the  sake  of 
the  work  they  can  get  through.     But  unless 
matters  mend,  says  The  Pioneer^  they  will  abso- 
lutely be  at  the  end  of  their  business  and  the  sit- 
ti\ig  will  be  closed  by  the  force  of  circumstances. 
In  spite  of  all  efforts  and  precautions,  the 
plague    has  increased  in  the  number  of   its 
victims  and  in  the  mortality  of  those  attacked, 
and  the  authorities  seem  utterly  unable  to  cope 
with  the  det'vroyer.    Medical  science  is  baffled, 
and  sanitary  experts  appear  to  be  of  little  avail. 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  all  sorts  of 
quacks  and  nostrum-venders  should  come  to  the 
fore  at  such  a  time  as  this,  and  many  of  the 
remedies  are  of  an  unearthly  and  immaterial 
sort.    B'akirs  promise  that  if  due  reverence  is 


m^mmmii»siMmM»img)!Wx- 


A  Plague-Stricken  City 


109 


paid  to  the  divinities  they  worship,  the  plague 
will  soou  disappear,  aud  grave  aunouucements 
to  this  effect  are  frequently  made  in  the  daily 
papers.  Not  only  the  native  papers  but  the 
English  journals  contain  many  strange  an- 
uouucementa  in  these  days.  Here  is  one 
copied  verbatim  from  the  leading  Bombay 
daily,  printed  therein  without  comment  or  re- 
flection  of  any  kind : — 

*' Pandit  Swaroopdas  telegraphs  to  us  from 
Shikarpore :  I  undertake  to  free  Bombay  of  its 
plague,  if  goat-flesh,  fish,  and  liquor  are  supplied 
to  me  for  sacrificial  purposes  in  quantities  suffi- 
cieut  to  equal,  approximately,  a  day's  consump- 
tion in  Bombay.  Further  condition  is  that  no 
slaughter  of  larger  animals  should  take  place 
on  the  day  the  sacrifice  is  offered.  I  am  ready 
to  leave  for  Bombay  on  invitation.  I  require 
neither  remuneration  nor  travelling  expenses." 

Many  other  proposals  to  pacify  the  enraged 
deities  have  been  published,  but,  so  far  as  I 
know,  the  city  authorities  have  not  seen  fit  to 
adopt  these  means  to  secure  immunity  from  the 
plague. 

It  can  be  well  imagined  that  the  signs  of 
death  are  numerous  in  every  direction.  On  the 
day  of  my  arrival  in  Bombay  no  less  than  ten 
funerals  passed  the  house  of  the  friend  with 
whom  I  was  staying,  and  it  was  mournful  in 
the  extreme  to  hear  the  wails  of  the  afQicted, 


■g  V-A  .iw  u  tiKixMKstxmam  •vtr.K'fnn"* 


no 


Fellow  Travellers 


and  the  still  more  dreadful  noises  of  the  native 
musicians  who  often  acconipany  a  funeial  train. 
Sometimes  these  procession,?  bear  the  poor  body 
to  its  last  resting-place  in  the  middle  of  the 
night,  and  it  is  weird  and  melancholy  in  the 
last  degree  to  awake  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, perhaps,  to  the  horrid  din  of  a  funeral  pro- 
cession, and  to  hear  the  monotonous  refrain  of 
the  bearers,  ••  Ram,  Ram,  Sachha  I  "  ( "  Ram  is 
true ! " )  repeated  over  and  over  and  over  again. 

If  a  Mohammedan  is  being  borne  to  his  last 
resting-place,  the  unchanging  cry  of  the  mourn- 
ers and  the  bearers  is,  "  There  is  one  God,  and 
Mohammed  is  his  prophet." 

Busy  indeed  are  these  days  at  the  various 
burning-ghats  of  the  city.  As  we  drove,  one 
evening,  on  one  of  the  principal  streets  behind 
a  high  wall  we  could  see  a  brilliant  flame  shoot- 
ing upward  and  illumining  the  sky  above  and 
the  blank  wall  beyond.  This  was  one  of  the 
burning-ghats  where  the  Hindu  dead  are  cre- 
mated, and,  looking  through  the  open  doorway, 
we  could  see  scores  of  lurid  fires  licking  up  the 
bodies  placed  between  the  glowing  logs.  The 
sticks  of  wood  which  are  used  for  cremation 
purposes  are  about  six  feet  long.  Of  these  a 
platform  is  built  some  four  feet  broad  and  two 
feet  high.  Upon  this  platform  the  dead  body 
is  placed;  other  logs  are  piled  upon  it;  and 
pieces  of  sandal-wood  and  other  fragrant  woods 


in 


of  the  native 
funeial  train, 
the  poor  body 
diddle  of  the 
choly  in  the 
:  in  the  morn* 
i  funeral  pro- 
)U8  refrain  of 
"  ( "  Ram  is 
id  over  again, 
ne  to  his  last 
>f  the  mourn- 
>ne  God,  and 

)  the  various 
e  drove,  one 
greets  behind 
i  flame  shoot- 
cy  above  and 
B  one  of  the 
lead  are  ere- 
)en  doorway, 
eking  up  the 
J  logs.  The 
>r  cremation 
Of  these  a 
oad  and  two 
le  dead  body 
pon  it;  and 
grant  woods 


A  Plague-Stricken  City  1 1 1 

are  added  to  the  pile.  Sacred  passages  from 
holy  books  are  read  by  the  officiating  priests ; 
the  nearest  relative  then  walks  three  times 
lound  the  funeral  pile,  and  applies  the  torch, 
and  in  about  two  hours  nothing  but  a  handful 
of  ashes  tells  of  the  father  or  mother  or  child 
that  was  borne  within  the  ghnt.  More  than  a 
hundred  bodies,  I  was  assured,  were  waiting  for 
cremation  at  one  of  these  burning-ghats  in  a 
single  day. 

The  vultures,  too,  in  Bombay  are  particularly 
busy  during  this  dreadful  epidemic.  As  is  well 
known,  the  Parsees  are  a  numerous  and  in- 
fluential sect  in  Bombay.  They  are  sometimes 
called  '♦  the  Yankees  of  the  Orient,"  because  of 
their  ability  to  get  ou  in  the  world.  They  neither 
bury  their  dead  nor  burn  them,  since  both  Are 
and  earth  are  sacred  to  their  religion.  So  they 
give  them  to  the  vultures  by  exposing  ^hem  on 
the  Towers  of  Silence.  It  is  a  most  grewsome. 
and  melancholy  spectacle  to  see  these  horrid 
birds  of  prey  awaiting  their  victims.  The 
towers,  large  structures  of  stone  and  cement, 
are  on  Malabar  Hill,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
parts  of  Bombay,  and  are  approached  by  wind- 
ing roads  through  lovely  gardens. 

These  towers  are  about  ninety  feet  in  di- 
ameter and  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high.  On  the 
edge  of  the  towers,  often  sitting  as  closely  to- 
gether as  they  can  be  packed,  are  the  vultures, 


m 


,-i'-  i"<i*.i»fr"»iii>{'-%i. ii'ii"i«ii«in*il<ll||ili|i)t«iit»*>~«- 


112 


Fellow  Travellers 


i 

•  i  ■  ■ 


waiting  witlt  horrid  impatience  for  the  next 
victim  that  shall  be  given  to  their  ravenous 
beuks  and  claws.  Up  the  long  winding  road 
come  the  mourners,  chanting  funeral  prayers ; 
then  follows  a  man  leading  a  white  dog,  the 
emblem  of  faithfulness;  then  come  a  number 
of  priests  and  the  relatives  of  the  family,  two 
and  two,  holding  a  white  handkerchief  between 
them,  which  indicates  that  a  bond  of  sympathy 
draws  them  together.  When  they  reach  the 
house  of  prayer,  the  mourners  enter  and  engage 
in  prayer  while  the  corpse  is  borne  into  the 
Tower  of  Silence.  The  body  is  exposed  naked 
on  a  platform  erected  on  the  inside,  which  can- 
not be  seen  by  spectators  without.  The  mo- 
ment the  bearers  withdraw,  the  hungry  vul- 
tures swoop  down  upon  the  corpse,  and  m  ten 
minutes  nothing  but  the  skeleton  rem  .ins, 
picked  clean  of  every  particle  of  flesh.  For 
two  or  three  weeks  the  skeleton  is  allowed  to 
remain  there,  when  it  is  thrown  into  a  common 
pit  beneath,  with  tens  of  thousands  of  its  name- 
less companions.  Some  of  these  are  of  high 
degree,  and  some  of  low,  but  death,  the  great 
Leveller,  snakes  no  distinction  in  the  Parsee 
Tower  of  Silence. 

The  following  grim  paragraph  concerning 
the  vultures  and  their  dreadful  business  I  have 
just  cut  from  a  Bombay  paper.  It  shows  as 
nothing  else  can  do  how  soon  people  will  get 


T 


1 


for  the  next 
leir  ravenous 
wiiidiag  road 
eral  prayers; 
Iiite  dog,  the 
me  a  number 
le  family,  two 
;hief  between 
of  sympathy 
ey  reach  the 
3r  and  engage 
>rne  into  the 
xposed  naked 
e,  which  can- 
iit.  The  mo- 
hungry  vul- 
3e,  and  m  ten 
ton  rem  .ins, 
f  flesh.  For 
is  allowed  to 
ito  a  common 
s  of  its  name- 
are  of  high 
ith,  the  great 
a.  the  Parsee 

1  concerning 

isiness  I  have 

It  shows  as 

)ople  will  get 


A  Plague-Stricken  City  113 

used  to  the  direst  calamities  and  the  most  grew- 
Bome  details,  so  that  they  become  a  matter  of 
commonplace  and  everyday  comment. 

"On  inquiries  regarding  vultures  and  their 
ability  to  consume  the  twelve  or  thirteen  bodies 
of  Parsees  taken  on  an  average  to  the  Towers 
of  Silence  daily,  the  Secretary  to  the  Parsee 
Panchayet  has  informed  the  representative  of  a 
Bombay  paper  that  the  number  of  vultures  has 
considerably  increased  of  late,  and  that  there  is 
not  any  truth  in  the  statement  that  bodies  re- 
main unconsumed  and  are  thrown  over  in  the 
big  pit  in  the  middle  of  the  Towers.  The  fact 
was,  he  stated,  that  in  ordinary  times  the  flock 
of  vultures  did  not  subsist  on  the  three  or  four 
bodies  that  were  brought  in,  but  soared  away 
to  their  chief  roosting-place  and  gorged  on  an- 
imal and  other  food  obtainable  there.  Now 
they  have,  by  instinct,  flocked  to  the  Towers  of 
Silence,  and  no  complaint  about  thpir  being 
slack  in  the  work  of  despatching  the  dead 
bodies  has  been  made." 

One  of  the  most  pathetic  sights  during  these 
terrible  days  in  Bombay  is  that  of  the  thou- 
sands of  poor  people  who  are  attempting  to  flee 
the  city.  On  the  day  I  left  Bombay  by  the 
Great  Indian  Peninsula  Route,  twelve  thousand 
people,  by  two  lines  of  road  alone,  had  joined 
the  panic-stricken  exodus.  The  railway  sta- 
tions and  all  the  streets  and  open  spaces  in 


.     ■ij.fmfcaiitiijj)  I.. 


iiVi#rt»l>W.Wiltl7iiaWil«i 


114 


Fellow  Travellers 


!   t 


'.vt';''"'i 

m 


the  vicinity  were  crowded  with  squatting  fig- 
ures in  white  cloths,  waiting  for  a  chance  to 
board  a  third-class  railway  compartment  and 
thus  leave  the  infected  precincts. 

Huddled  together  in  all  sorts  of  heaps  of 
humanity,  in  the  dead  of  night  as  well  as  in 
the  broad  glare  of  day,  were  these  waiting, 
frightened  throngs.  The  trains  were  running 
in  two  sections,  and  all  the  third-class  compart- 
ments were  crowded  to  suffocation.  Thou- 
sands of  others  left  by  sea  or  by  the  carriage 
roads,  and  already  it  is  thought  that  nearly  half 
the  population  has  shaken  the  dust  of  Bombay 
from  its  feet  and  turned  its  face  country  ward. 
The  exodus  is  estimated  all  the  way  from  two 
hundred  thousand  to  four  hundred  thousand, 
and  probably  the  latter  number  is  more  nearly 
correct.  Not  all  those  who  try  to  escape  reach 
the  promised  land  safely,  for  almost  every  day, 
it  is  said,  some  corpses  are  taken  out  of  the 
trains,  and  others  live  only  long  enough  to 
reach  Poonah  or  Ahmednuggur  or  some  other 
port  of  hoped-for  safety,  and  there  yield  to  the 
destroyer  whose  seeds  of  death  have  be  ^n  im- 
planted  in  their  systems. 

Altogether,  the  sight  of  a  plague-stricken  city 
is  sad  beyond  expression,  and  the  sympathy  of 
the  'nivilized  world  has  not  been  expended  in 
vain  upon  the  "  Eye  of  India,"  so  sadly  and 
grievously  afflicted. 


squatting  fig- 
r  a  chance  to 
ipartment  and 

ts  of  heaps  of 

as  well  as  in 

these  waiting, 

were  running 

-class  conipart- 

oation.    Thou- 

ty  the  carriage 

hat  nearly  half 

ust  of  Bombay 

i  country  ward. 

way  from  two 

Ired  thousand, 

is  more  nearly 

;o  escape  reach 

lost  every  day, 

:en  out  of  the 

ng  enough  to 

or  some  other 

ire  yield  to  the 

have  be  >n  im- 

le-stricken  city 
le  sympathy  of 
a  expended  in 
'  so  sadly  and 


GONOEBNINO  A  DELIGHTFUL  BXPEBIBNOB 

To-day,  my  fellow  travellers,  let  us  go  to 
Sirur  on  a  personally  conducted  visit  to  the  En- 
deavorers  of  this  enterprising  mission  station. 

Sirur,  you  must  know,  is  a  station  of  the 
American  Board  in  the  Mahratta  country,  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Bombay. 
We  go  to  Poonah  by  rail,  and  there  we  must 
take  a  tonga,  drawn  by  tough  little  Deccan 
horses,  for  Sirur,  forty-one  miles  away.  We 
start  before  daylight  to  avoid  the  dreadful  heat 
of  midday. 

Our  tonga  wallah  unmercifully  whips  up  his 
raw-boned  little  stags,  starved  by  the  faruino  like 
many  another  animal,  four-footed  and  two- 
footed.  As  we  do  not  know  the  Mahrati  word 
for  "  stop,"  all  our  expostulations  are  in  vain. 

It  is  a  most  fascinating  ride  of  forty-one 
miles  in  the  cool  of  the  lovely  Indian  winter 
morning  ;  past  queer  little  villages  of  mud  and 
straw,  rAvarming  with  human  life ;  past  gro- 
tesquo  Hindu  temples  filled  with  hideous  ob- 
scene gods ;  under  spreading  banyan-trees, 
whose  branches  are  musical  with  birds  of  gor- 
geous plumage. 

116  f-;^;?."..«- 


.iiiaaC'J«liitfn!l«t:iitjijirjW»«Wfti>'rp'ri''f^»wi»>»*''»^ 


ii6 


Fellow  Travellers 


P-l 


'|: 


But.  I  linve  not  time  to  describe  the  ride,  for 
I  want  to  introduce  you  at  once  to  your  fellow 
Endeavorers.  Here  they  are  drawn  up  before 
the  mission  bungalow  of  Sirur,  which  we  reach 
before  noon.  The  girls  are  in  bright  red  cloths 
or  graceful  white  tunics  trimmed  with  red,  the 
boys  in  nondescript  garments,  but  all  clothed 
in  some  way,  and  thus  showing  at  first  glance 
their  difference  from  the  heathen  children,  who 
are  clad  chiefly  in  an  expansive  smile. 

Two  great  banyan-trees  were  festooned  and 
arched  over  with  bunting,  thus  forming  a  sort 
of  triumphal  arch  in  our  honor,  while  several 
Christian  Endeavor  banners  and  a  hearty 
Christian  Endeavor  song  as  we  drove  up  com- 
pleted the  welcome. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Winsor,  the  missionaries  in 
charge,  awaited  us  on  the  shady  veranda  of 
the  bungalow,  and  at  once  made  us  feel  that,  we 
were  at  home. 

After  the  dust  of  travel  had  been  disposed 
of,  and  breakfast  as  well,  for  breakfast  in  this 
sunny  land  comes  anywhere  between  nine  and 
noon,  we  visited  the  excellent  boys'  school, 
where  some  capital  drawings  were  displayed ; 
and  the  girls'  school,  where  the  pretty  black- 
eyed  damsels  recited  with  great  spirit  a  dia- 
logue for  our  benefit,  and  went  through  .tome 
excellent  calisthenic  exercises.  Then  we  went 
to   the    pleasant  mission    church,  which  was 


u 


.,-.♦  p. — „ — » — 


m»t  *  i>.  mim- »  *^.i  ■  ii'.i'i  ■  W'ji>.it9jiiiwig'.w»wMJj.gg  * 


A  Delightful  Experience  \  1 7 


e  ride,  for 
lur  fellow 
up  before 

I  we  reach 
red  cloths 
;h  red,  the 

II  clothed 
Tst  glance 
dren,  who 

• 

)oned  and 
ling  a  sort 
ile  several 
a  hearty 
e  up  com- 

onaries  in 
oranda  of 
lel  that,  we 

I  disposed 
ast  in  this 
1  nine  and 
'b'  school, 
displayed ; 
tty  black- 
irit  a  dia- 
)ugh  .iome 
n  we  went 
^hich  was 


crowded  to  the  doors  with  Christians,  while 
half-naked  heathen  Hindus  thronged  the  doors 
and  windows. 

Some  of  the  non-Christians  too,  were  not 
afraid  to  come  within  the  doors ;  among  them, 
the  Museulman  chief  of  the  whole  district,  who 
told  me  afterward  that  he  rejoiced  that  I  had 
come,  that  '*we  all  worship  the  same  God," 
etc.,  while  he  emphasized  his  friendliness  by 
sending  a  present  of  fruit  anu  cake  to  the  mis- 
sion bungalow.  Evidently  Mohammedanism  is 
a  different  thing  under  British  rule  in  India 
from  what  it  is  in  bloody  Turkey.  Here  its 
talons  ar  J  clipped  and  its  beak  is  broken. 

Most  hearty  was  the  welcome  that  was  given 
to  Christian  Endeavor  at  this  meeting.  We 
were  sung  to,  and  spoken  at,  and  garlanded, 
and  rubbed  with  rose-water.  According  to  the 
beautiful  Mahratta  custom,  a  heavy  garland  of 
beautiful  white  flowers  like  tuberoses  was  hung 
around  our  necks,  a  wristlet  of  flowers  was  put 
upon  each  wrist,  a  few  drops  of  the  precious 
attar  of  roses  were  rubbed  on  the  back  of  each 
hand,  and  a  g^reen  leaf  containing  the  famous 
betelnut  was  given  us  to  chew.  Then  an  ad* 
dress  was  made  by  "  Dr.  Clark  Sahib,*'  and 
translated  by  Mr.  Winsor.  The  climax  of  the 
service  of  welcome  was  reached,  when  a  beauti- 
ful orange-red,  high-caste  Brahman's  hat  was 
presented  to  your  representative  by  the  pastor 


i 


il 


'I  j 

I' 


i 


118 


Fellow  Travellers 


of  the  church.  In  a  flowery  and  poettc  speech, 
he  in  eflfect  said  that  every  casket  sliould  have 
a  cover,  and,  as  the  hat  was  the  cover  to  the 
brain,  they  gave  me  this  Brahman's  tile,  that  I 
might  keep  within  my  brain  pleasant  impres- 
sions of  the  visit  to  Sirur. 

Then  the  formal  meeting  was  over,  and  we 
shook  hands  and  "  salaamed  "  in  the  most  pro- 
fuse and  Oriental  style.  After  this,  four  moth- 
ers with  their  little  new  babies  came  up  asking 
that  "Clark  Sahib"  would  give  them  names. 
What  could  I  do  but  comply  with  this  gracious 
request?  Here  are  the  names  that  they  will 
bear : — 

Harriet  Clark  Lasomita  Naoaya. 
Maude  Williston  Hanamant  Zoteba. 
Edward  Laxaman  Damaji. 
John  Willis  Anandra  Limbaji. 

Afterward  another  mother  asked  me  to  name 
her  little  boy.  What  better  could  I  do  than 
call  him 

William  Shaw  Madawarow  Amolik  ? 

I  gave  each  of  the  babies  a  junior  Christian 
Endeavor  badge,  and  the  mothers  and  fathers 
seemed  much  delighted  with  the  names. 

Some  of  these  mothers  have  most  interest- 
ing histories.  Maude  Williston  Hanamant's 
mother,  for  instance,  was  sold  by  her  grand- 
father to  the  authorities  of  the  temple  of  the 


n  m 


^fSff.'iSW'.*;"'*  -y"^.S***>'^ 


•avM^ 


poetic  speech, 
et  sliould  have 
3  cover  to  the 
in's  tile,  that  I 
sasant  impres* 

over,  and  we 
the  most  pro- 
liis,  four  moth- 
ivae  up  asking 
them  names. 
I  this  gracious 
hat  they  will 

AGAYA. 
r  ZOTEBA. 

iJI. 

i  me  to  name 
Id  I  do  than 

Amolik  ? 
lior  Christian 
3  and  fathers 
anies. 
aost  interest- 

Hanamant's 
r  her  grand> 
ample  of  the 


A  Delightful  Experience  119 

most  obscene  god,  to  be  brought  up  in  all  the 
nameless  horrors  of  a  Nautch  girl's  life.  With 
great  di£Bculty  she  was  rescued  by  the  mission- 
aries ;  she  has  grown  up  to  be  a  beautiful,  pure 
Christian  woman,  and  is  now  the  wife  of  one  of 
the  most  honored  teachers  in  the  mission 
schools. 

I  know  a  little  six-year  old  boy  who  some- 
times prays,  "  Dear  Jesus,  bless  dear  grandpa 
and  grandma,  and  help  them  to  grow  up  to  be 
good  men  and  women."  I  can  only  pray  that 
these  babies  may  "  grow  up  to  be  good  men 
and  women,"  and  good  Christian  Endeavorers 
like  their  namesakes. 

I  have  described  this  meeting  somewhat  at 
length,  because  in  its  iteartiness  it  is  typical  of 
many  another  welcome.  I  can  but  mention 
the  splendid  Industrial  School  in  Sirur,  in 
which  work  Mrs.  Winsor  is  a  pioneer,  and  the 
pleasant  days  at  Ahmednuggur,  an  old  and 
strong  station  of  the  American  Board,  the 
centre  of  a  score  of  Christian  Endeavor  socie- 
ties, where  at  meeting  after  meeting  the  large 
church  was  thronged  with  intelligent  Chris- 
tians. 


rr 


XIX 

A  QUEER   HOSPITAL 

The  abundance  of  animal  life  in  India  is  one  of 
the  things  which  first  of  all  strikes  the  traveller. 
Wherever  he  goes,  birds  and  beasts  seem  to 
swarm  in  numbers  never  approached  in  west- 
ern climes.  He  sees  not  simply  a  few  imper- 
tinent English  sparrows,  whose  numbers  can 
never  be  diminished,  even  by  the  small  boy 
with  his  gun;  not  simply  a  timid  and  far- 
sighted  crow  here  and  there,  which  smells  the 
hunter's  gun  a  mile  away ;  but  such  a  variety 
and  quantity  of  living  creatures  as  arouse  the 
untamed  hunter's  instinct  at  every  turn. 

Bright  green  parrots  alight  on  the  telegiaph 
wires ;  herds  of  spotted  deer  scamper  off  into 
the  jungle  as  the  train  approaches,  or  perhaps, 
made  bold  by  constant  familiarity,  they  do  not 
even  lift  their  cottony  tails  and  run,  but  graze 
quietly  beside  the  railway  track.  Wild  pea- 
cocks with  extended  tails,  on  every  feather  a 
brilliant  painted  eye,  stalk  lazily  over  the  stub- 
ble fields  as  the  train  whizzes  past.  Monkeys 
chatter  in  the  branches  of  the  banyan-trees,  and 
perform  acrobatic  feats  for  the  amusement  of 
the  passer-by.  ,  ,         v      , 

1» 


^5ittr&S**-w 


A  Queer  Hospital 


121 


1  India  is  one  of 
)8  the  traveller, 
leasts  seem  to 
ached  in  west- 
ir  a  few  imper- 

n umbers  can 
the  small  boy 
iraid  and  far- 
lich  smells  the 
such  a  variety 

OS  arouse  the 
ry  turn. 
1  the  telegiaph 
imper  off  into 
es,  or  perhaps, 
y,  thoy  do  not 
run,  but  graze 
c.  Wild  pea- 
'ery  feather  a 
over  the  stub- 
ist.  Monkeys 
y  an -trees,  and 
imusement  of 


The  great  reason,  I  suppoRe,  for  the  supera- 
bundance of  animal  life  in  India  is  that  the 
country  is  largely  inhabited  by  vegetarians. 
The  great  majority  of  the  people  in  India,  after 
centuries  of  training,  have  come  to  regard  the 
eating  of  meat  with  horror  and  disgust;  and 
the  lusty  beefeaters  who  live  in  the  land  of 
John  Bull  or  Brother  Jonathan  are  regarded 
by  many  of  the  mild-eyed  Hindus  with  a  pecul- 
iar loathing. 

One  result  of  this  reverence  for  animal  life 
has  been  the  establishment  in  all  the  large 
cities  of  India  of  hospitals  for  aged  and  infirm 
animals.  Here  the  lame,  halt,  p.nd  blind  of  the 
animal  kingdom  are  gathf>rcd  together.  Raw- 
boned  oxen  Ihut  have  been  overworked  and 
half  starved  are  here  tenderly  cared  for  until 
they  die. 

Spavined  and  wind-gnlled  horses  are  here  col- 
lected from  their  cruel  owners.  Mangy  dogs 
and  hnlf-starved  Thomas  cats;  animals  big  and 
little,  wild  and  tame,  here  form  a  happy  family 
in  the  strangest  menagerie  that  was  ever  seen. 
These  queer  hospitals  are  often  very  largely  en- 
dowed by  rich  Hindus,  who  are  supposed  thus 
to  please  their  benign  deities  and  gain  an  easy 
entrance  into  heaven. 

It  is  even  said  that  some  of  the  stricter  Hin- 
dus caiTy  their  reverence  for  animal  life  so  far 
that  they  will  not  disturb  a  mosquito  at  his 


iVu'iiiiigfBMw''iijf:iIttBiT1iWfc»wWi^^^^^^^^ 


■WJW»iiriiiiJiii»riii7*a 


"ijfit'Vjiihi'Tiiiiiw'tl'iiJiiM^ 


.Jba 


122 


Fellow  Travellers 


evening  meal,  or  interfere  with  certain  crea- 
tures, not  mentioned  in  polite  society  or  num- 
bered in  the  census,  when  they  are  foraging  for 
their  daily  blood  pudding. 

It  is  gravely  asserted  that  in  one  city  a  man 
is  hired  for  a  small  salary  to  furnish  meat  and 
drink  for  the  fleas  that  are  turned  loose  upon 
him,  and  that  he  not  only  earns  his  daily  bread 
in  this  way,  but  cultivates  the  grace  of  p?>tience 
at  the  same  time. 

This  regard  for  animals,  many  of  which  are 
supposed  to  be  incarnations  of  some  special 
deity,  is  particularly  shown  at  some  of  the  fa- 
mous temples  of  India.  For  instance,  when  on 
a  recent  Christian  Endeavor  pilgrimage  to  Bena- 
res, I  visited  in  the  intervals  between  the  meet- 
ings the  famous  Monkey  Temple.  Swarms  of 
little  grinning  parodies  of  men  surrounded  me 
as  soon  as  I  set  foot  within  the  sacred  precincts. 
Some  large  apes,  aged  and  sedate,  would  ask  in  . 
a  dignified  way  for  the  cakes  and  parched  corn 
which  every  visitor  is  supposed  to  bring  tliem. 
But  at  the  same  time  a  score  of  little  fellows, 
younger  and  less  dignified,  would  jump  down 
upon  their  aged  relatives  and  filch  the  tidbits 
out  from  under  their  very  eyes. 

The  precincts  of  this  temple,  with  its  hideous 
goddess  grinning  behind  a  screen  within  the 
holy  of  holies,  also  swarmed  with  other  kinds 
of  animals,  gathering  for  the  sake  of  receiving 


nmmmm 


th  rertaiii  crea- 
society  or  num- 
are  foraging  for 

>  one  city  a  man 
urnish  meat  and 
rned  loose  upon 
I  his  daily  bread 
;race  of  patience 

ly  of  which  are 
)f  some  special 
some  of  the  fa- 
stance,  when  on 
rimage  to  Bena- 
tween  the  meet- 
)le.  Swarms  of 
surrounded  me 
acred  precincts, 
lie,  would  ask  in 
id  parched  corn 
.  to  bring  tliem. 
)f  little  fellows, 
iild  jump  down 
filch  the  tidbits 

(vith  its  hideous 
een  within  the 
ith  other  kinds 
ke  of  receiving 


A  Queer  Hospital 


123 


the  crumbs  that  fell  from  the  monkeys'  tables. 
Black  and  white  goats  nosed  about  with  a  confi- 
dential air  of  familiarity.  Mongrel  curs  dogged 
our  heels.  Gray  and  black  ravens  perched  upon 
the  haunches  of  the  goats,  that  they  might  get 
their  share  of  good  things;  and  altogether  it 
was  a  zoological  garden  of  tame  animals  such 
as  I  never  saw  before. 

"What  the  monkeys  are  to  Vishnu,  the  sacred 
zebu  is  to  Siva,"  we  are  told ;  "  and  so  the  cow 
and  bull  are  the  objects  of  special  worship  to 
the  Hindus ;  their  slaughter  is  a  terrible  crime, 
and  to  eat  their  flesh  is  loss  of  caste  in  this 
world  and  far  worse  in  the  world  to  come.  It 
is  a  most  meritorious  act  to  dedicate  bulls  and 
cows  to  Siva,  and  to  multiply  around  the  god 
the  living  images  of  Nandi,  the  divine  steed. 
These  animals  are  always  numerous  in  places 
sacred  to  this  god,  where  they  live  in  perfect 
freedom,  pampered  and  fed  by  pious  devotees, 
who  teiapt  their  appetites  with  dainties  put  out 
on  the  doorstep  in  a  pot,  and  let  them  wander 
unchecked  into  any  shop  they  fancy,  to  help 
themselves  to  any  grain  or  vegetables  for  which 
their  souls  may  lust." 

In  contrast  to  this  care  and  regard  for  ani- 
mal life  on  the  part  of  the  heathen  Hindu,  the 
cruelty  of  the  brutal  Anglo-Saxon  is  sometimes 
brought  out  in  hideous  contrast.  For  instance, 
on  a  recent  journey  through  Central  India,  there 


^i. 


— r,» »» iin»«i>  iiiiulpinitfiiii'ii  j|  mt  mill  Ml  «»ii<  ■»!  ■ 


.i.4j'..Yt..a^»;i.i..  ,^:J^^ 


I  . 


l\ 


124 


Fellow  Travellers 


were  on  the  same  train  with  myself  some  private 
soldiers,  who  were  taking  the  sama  long  jour- 
ney of  twenty-four  hours.     For  a  time  tliey  be- 
guiled the  tedium  of  the  way  by  coaxing  to 
their  compartment  in   the   train   every  poor, 
mangy  dog  which  they  could  induce  to  come 
near  them  with  a  chickenboue  or  a  piece  of 
bread.    Then,  when  the  dog  got  within  striking 
distance,  with  a  heavy  hockey  stick  they  would 
hit  him  with  all  their  might  over  the  back  or 
legs.     I  saw  them  break  the  back  of  one  poor 
dog  and  the  leg  of  another  that  went  off  crying 
with  a  most  pitiable  "ki-i-i."     By  this  time  I 
thought  it  was  time  to  interfere,  and,  as  few 
people  travel  in  Jiis  part  of  India  except  gov- 
ernment officials  and  military  officers,  I  knew 
that  "Tommy  Atkins  "  would  take  me  for  one 
of  his  superior  officers.    So,  putting  my  head 
into  the  compartment  where  the  four  human 
brutes  were  seated,  I  said  to  them :  "  You  are 
the  most  cruel  and  cowardly  meu  I've  ever  seen 
in  my  life,  to  beat  the  poor  dogs  in  this  way. 
If  I  know  of  your  doing  anything  more  of  this 
sort  on  this  journey,  I  will  report  you  to  the 
general  in  command  at  Agra."    It  is  needless 
to  say  that  these  particular  ••  Tommies  "  were 
cowardly  as  well  as  brutal.    They  said  not  a 
word,  but  slunk  into  a  co?  ;<.<i-  of  the  compart- 
ment, and  I  heard  uo  mo;:.>  ^v  ?!ping  dogs  that 
day. 


.,— -^ 


Hers 

yself  some  private 
>  sam;3  long  jour- 
or  a  time  tliey  be- 
iy  by  coaxing  to 
rain   every  poor, 
I  induce  to  come 
)ue  or  a  piece  of 
ot  within  Btriking 
stick  they  would 
over  the  back  or 
back  of  one  pour 
it  went  off  crying 
By  this  time  I 
fere,  and,  as  few 
[ndia  except  guv- 
officers,  I  knew 
take  me  for  one 
jutting  my  head 
the  four  human 
them :  "  You  are 
leu  I've  ever  seen 
og&  in  this  way. 
ling  more  of  this 
port  you  to  the 
"    It  is  needless 
Tommies  "  were 
They  said  not  a 
of  the  compart- 
'iing  dogs  that 


A  Queer  Hospital 


125 


In  the  same  compartment  with  me  on  that 
journey  were  some  high-caste  Brahmans,  who 
were  equally  indignant  with  myself  over  this 
wanton  cruelty,  though  they  did  not  dare  to 
say  anything  to  its  perpetrators.  I  said  to  my- 
self, as  they  were  groaning  in  sympathy  with 
the  wounded  dogs,  "What  will  these  gentle 
heathen  think  of  our  vaunted  Christianity, 
when,  after  nineteen  centuries,  we  must  admit 
that  such  human  brutes  still  exist?"  Such  are 
the  men  that  make  missionary  work  in  India 
mountainously  difficult. 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  there  is 
an  enormous  amount  of  cruelty  in  this  land  of 
the  Orient.  To  be  sure,  the  Hindus  will  not 
take  animal  life,  but  in  many  cases  it  would  be 
much  more  merciful  if  they  wuuld  do  so.  They 
will  let  a  poor  dog  with  broken  bones  and  cov- 
ered with  sores  drag  out  a  miserable  existence 
rather  than  put  him  out  of  misery.  They  will 
starve  their  horses  and  underfeed  their  cattle 
for  the  sake  of  the  few  annas  which  they  thus 
save.  They  will  twist  the  tails  of  their  bul- 
locks by  way  of  urging  them  to  greater  speed, 
until  the  caudal  extremities  of  the  poor  animals 
are  broken  in  a  dozen  places.  They  will  leave 
a  poor,  famished  creature  by  the  roadside  to  die 
of  slow  starvation  rather  than  by  the  swift  bul- 
let or  the  merciful  knife.  A  few  of  these  crea- 
tures, to  be  sure,  find  their  way  into  the  animal 


■■■i 


w 


Fellow  Travellers 

hospital,  but  only  a  few  comparatively,  and  for 
the  most  part  the  animals  of  Christian  coun* 
tries  are  as  much  better  off  as  are  the  human 
being's. 

The  religion  of  Christ  has  brought  health  and 
happiness,  not  only  to  the  human  race,  but  to 
the  domestic  animals  of  Christian  lands  as  well. 
Then  "  praise  ye  Him,"  not  only  "  kings  of  the 
earth  and  all  people,"  *«  young  men  and  maid- 
ens, old  men  and  children,"  but  "beasts  and  all 
cattle,  creeping  things  and  flying  fowl,"  *'  let 
them  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord."  'f  '* 


^•^^■*;> 


•  ;.  Is 


:J-      '       ,  -  *  ^ 


<^*'fiW?.!i!!  UJti^J,  VjC'**?"*^  ■*.'"^AJE  %S^ 


■|hiW>iim<tltlillj|<il 


ratively,  and  for 
Christian  coun* 
s  are  the  human 

mght  health  and 
nan  race,  but  to 
an  lands  as  well, 
y  "  kings  of  the 
men  and  maid- 
li  "  beasts  and  all 
ing  fowl,"  "let 


XX 

HEBE  AMD  THERE  IN  INDIA 

From  Sirur  we  went  to  Ahmednuggur.  Here 
are  two  churches  and  a  very  large  Christian 
community.  Four  meetings  were  held,  each 
one  crowded  with  native  Christians.  Thence 
we  went  on  to  Harda  in  the  Central  Provinces, 
a  twelve  hours'  ride  from  "  Nagar." 

A  half-dozen  missionaries  were  on  the  plat- 
form to  greet  us,  and  I  should  think  nearly  a 
hundred  Endeavorers  were  drawn  up  in  two 
lines,  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  just  outside  of 
the  station  compound. 

They  carried,  on  long  poles,  beautiful  silk 
banners,  with  "  Christian  Endeavor  "  and  our 
Endeavor  mottoes  in  Hindi  characters  embroid- 
ered thereon.  As  Mr.  Wharton,  the  senior 
missionary  of  the  station,  and  I  passed  through 
this  line,  they  chanted  their  welcome,  until  we 
mounted  the  "  garry,"  and  the  little  white  bul- 
locks, with  humps  on  their  shoulders,  trotted  us 
off  to  the  mission  bungalow.  Altogether  the 
two  days  in  Harda  were  most  delightful  and 
encouraging.  The  true  spirit  of  Christian  En- 
deavor enthusiasm  and  fellowship  prevailed. 

Harda  is  a  mission  station  of  the  Disciples  of 
137 


m 


■■i 


128 


Fellow  Travellers 


Christ  of  the  United  States ;  but  not  only  did 
the  workers  of  this  mission  come  together  from 
different  stations,  but  the  Friends  of  England, 
who  have  stations  near  by,  united  with  them. 
One  of  the  Friends,  Samuel  Baker,  a  most  ac- 
complished Hindi  scholar,  interpreted  for  me  at 
all  the  sessions.  I  assure  you  we  did  not  waste 
any  time.  Saturday  evening  as  soon  as  the  dust 
of  travel  was  washed  off,  and  Sunday  morning 
before  breakfast,  and  Sunday  afternoon,  and 
Sunday  evening,  we  came  together.  Which 
meeting  of  all  was  the  most  delightful,  it  would 
be  hard  to  say. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  was  the  little 
parlor  gathering  of  missionaries  and  workers 
on  the  last  evening,  when  the  Christians-Friend 
or  Friends-Christian  local  union  was  organized 
for  Harda  and  vicinity.  "  Vicinity  "  is  a  very 
large  word  hereabout,  and  what  this  union  as 
yet  lacks  in  number  of  societies  it  makes  up  in 
extent  of  territory,  for  it  covers  a  small  empire. 
Never  have  I  seen  more  earnest  missionaries, 
more  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  claims  of 
Christian  Endeavor,  or  greater  harmony  and 
brotherhood  than  in  these  two  misf'ons. 

Let  me  congratulate  the  young  C  ristians  of 
America  and  the  young  Friends  of  England  on 
the  privilege  they  have  of  supporting  so  promis- 
ing a  work. 
Rutlam,  distant  a  night's  ride  by  rail  in  Cen- 


I .^   -  — ■  ,-^  -     ,jj|^j|^  -j^Jj..>..^^j|^f^.,^  .^^   J^    >^.l>.^t  i^^.Y,li,^.tn~,-it. 


rs 

ut  not  only  did 
e  together  from 
nds  of  England, 
ited  with  them, 
aker,  a  most  ac- 
preted  for  me  at 
ve  did  not  waste 
soon  as  the  dust 
Sunday  morning 
afternoon,  and 
igether.  Which 
ightful,  it  would 

t  was  the  little 
les  and  workers 
"hriatiuns-Frieud 
in  was  organized 
sinity  "  is  a  very 
lat  this  union  as 
)s  it  makes  up  in 
8  a  small  empire, 
lest  missionaries, 
of  the  claims  of 
er  harmony  and 
misF'ons. 
iing  C  ristians  of 
Is  of  England  on 
>orting  so  promis- 

le  by  rail  in  Cen- 


Here  and  There  in  India 


129 


tral  India,  the  capital  of  the  native  state  of 
Riitlam,  was  our  next  stopping-i)lace.  This 
station  and  others  near  by  are  under  the  charge 
of  the  Canadian  Presbyterian  Church,  and  a 
fruitful  and  hopeful  mission  it  is. 

My  kind  hosts  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell, 
and  a  dozen  other  missionaries  of  the  same  mis- 
sion came  together  for  the  conference.  Here  is 
b  good  native  society,  and  the  promise,  I  be- 
lieve, of  many  more. 

After  Rutlam  our  zigzag  journey  took  us  to 
Ajmeer,  a  British  town  surrounded  by  Rajpu- 
tana  states. 

Here  is  an  English  society  recruited  from  the 
Methodist  and  Scotch  missions,  and  embracing 
some  residents  and  soldiers ;  and  I  hope  before 
lonp  to  hear  of  many  good  native  societies  in 
the  Scotch  mission  churches,  which  are  strong 
in  all  this  region. 

There  are  some  native  Epworth  Leagues  in 
this  vicinity ;  but  they  do  not  unite  with  us  in 
our  Christian  Endeavor  services,  I  am  sorry  to 
say. 

While  in  Ajmeer,  the  guest  of  the  kindest  of 
hosts,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  De  Souza,  I  met  Miss  Mary 
Murray,  one  of  the  three  Murray  sifters,  for- 
merly of  Switzerland,  but  now  of  India,  but 
always  and  everywhere  of  Christian  Endeavor. 

This,  I  feel,  is  but  a  dry  and  meagre  account 
of  a  week's  wanderings,  during  which  I  have 


M 


mmmmmmmm 


i 


pi'. 


'>'Ia; 


t  m 


3.1  !■ 


130 


Fellow  Travellers 


usually  travelled  all  night  and  spoken  two  or 
three  times  every  day,— a  busy  life,  you  see, 
which  does  not  give  me  much  time  for  chatting 
on  paper  with  you  or  any  other  friends. 

How  I  wish  I  had  time  and  room  to  put  in 
some  graphic  touches  to  tell  of  the  picturesque 
scenes  that  make  this  hard  journey  one  of  un- 
flagging interest ! 

'  I  would  tell  you,  for  instance,  of  the  wretched 
beggars,  made  by  the  awful  famine  now  raging 
in  India;  of  the  hundreds  of  skinny  hands 
stretched  out  for  a  handful  of  corn  by  hungry 
mortals  along  the  roadside,  sometimes  huddled 
together  as  thick  as  they  can  squat. 

I  would  tell  you  of  the  interesting  leper 
asylum  in  Harda ;  of  the  old  leper  who  rode  by 
my  side  in  the  railway  car  for  fifty  miles,  and 
hid  his  disease,  which  had  eaten  off  most  of  his 
fingers,  under  the  euphemism  of  "skin  disease." 
Skin  disease,  indeed ! 

I  would  tell  you  of  the  gorgtous  "  durbar  " 
or  reception  given  by  the  rajah  of  Rutlam  on 
the  occasion  of  his  seventeenth  birthday,  to 
which  I  was  invited,  and  of  the  call  I  received 
next  day  from  the  Parsee  regent  and  governor 
of  Rutlam,  and  how  I  went  off  to  the  station 
behind  the  prancing  chargers  of  "His  Royal 
Highness,"  the  rajah,  attended  by  a  military 
escort  on  white  horses.  Do  not  think,  how- 
ever, that  your  correspondent  will  be  unduly 


AP\ 


|;i 


ilM«i 


lers 

nd  spoken  two  or 
upy  life,  you  see, 
time  for  chatting 
er  friends, 
nd  room  to  pnt  in 
of  the  picturesque 
journey  one  of  un- 

oe,  of  the  wretched 
famine  now  raging 

of  skinny  hands 
of  corn  by  hungry 
lometimes  huddled 

squat. 

I  interesting  leper 
leper  who  rode  by 
for  fifty  miles,  and 
iten  off  most  of  his 
i  of  *'  skin  disease." 


Here  and  There  in  India  131 

"set  up"  by  royal  favors.  His  arrival  and  de- 
parture are  usually  on  a  much  more  humble 
scale. 

I  would  tell  you  of  the  jackal  lullabies,  by 
which  I  am  frequently  soothed  to  sleep,  and  es- 
pecially of  the  jackal  concert  one  night  at  Aj- 
meer,  where  it  seemed  as  if  a  thousand  tom-cats 
were  howling  about  the  tent  in  which  I  slept. 
You  see  there  is  room  for  some  picturesque 
happenings  in  the  interstices  between  Christian 
Endeavor  meetings. 


;orgfcous  "  durbar  " 
rajah  of  Rutlam  on 
senth  birthday,  to 
:  the  call  I  received 
Bgent  and  governor 
b  off  to  the  station 
ers  of  "His  Royal 
ided  by  a  military 
)o  not  think,  how- 
mt  will  be  unduly 


i!^iPVf9HWfKyw|aM»<^i^^ii««^jja!iiiiLii«i  m^iWHiw 


XXI 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  IN  RISTOBIO  INDIA 


Satdrdat  morning,  January  9,  found  me  in 
Agin;  as  usual,  arriving  at  a  new  place  long 
before  daylight.  But  after  a  little  time  I  found 
a  warm  welcome  awaiting  me  in  the  home  of 
Rev.  J.  G.  Potter,  of  the  English  Baptist  mis- 
sion. Here,  too,  I  saw  for  the  first  time  Rev. 
A.  G.  McGaw,  to  whom  Christian  Endeavor  in 
northern  India  is  so  much  indebted. 

Agra,  you  know,  is  the  city  of  the  Taj  and  of 
the  Pearl  Mosque  and  of  the  silver  bathroom, 
and  of  ever  so  many  other  wonderful  creations 
of  that  great  architectural  wizard,  Shah  Jehan. 
These  have  made  Agra,  in  some  respects,  the 
most  wonderful  city  in  the  world.  So  we  stole 
a  few  hours  for  sight-seeing. 

The  Agra  meetings,  five  in  all,  were  profitable 
and  helpful  gatherings,  the  friends  who  came 
from  the  Presbyterian  mission  of  Furruckabad 
contributing  not  a  little  to  their  value,  as  did 
also  Miss  Wrigler  and  other  members  of  the 
Baptist  Zenana  Mission  of  Agra.  Several  of 
the  missionaries  came  on  their  bicycles  from 
their  homes  sixty  miles  away.  The  splendid 
roads  of  India,  kept  in  perfect  repair  by  the 

132 


iim  m-ptitn^mmm 


ITOBIO  INDIA 

9,  found  me  in 
lew  place  long 
tie  time  I  found 
in  the  home  of 
ih  Baptist  mis> 
first  time  Rev. 
in  Endeavor  in 
ted. 

'  the  Taj  and  of 
ilver  bathroom, 
lerfiil  creations 
'd,  Shah  Jehan. 
fie  respects,  the 
1.    So  we  stole 

were  profitable 
nds  who  came 
)f  Furruckabad 
ir  value,  as  did 
lembers  of  the 
ra.  Several  of 
'  bicycles  from 
The  splendid 
repair  by  the 


MARBLE   SCREEN    IN    PALACE    IN    DELHI 


wmm 


■ff. 


l.,* 


<■ 
avi 


fell 

to 
i 


oJ 


Endeavor  in  Historic  India        133 

British  government,  are  exactly  fitted  to  the 
••silent  steed."  So,  Christian  Endeavorers, 
when  you  join  the  missionary  forces  of  India, 
take  your  Columbias,  or  your  Victors,  or  what- 
ever may  be  "the  very  best  wheel  in  the 
world,"— the  one  you  ride,  I  mean. 

Two  of  the  Agra  meetings  were  held  in  the 
Havelock  Baptist  Chapel,  a  place  of  sacred 
interest  to  me,  for  this  church  was  founded 
more  than  sixty  years  ago,  by  the  great  Chris- 
tian  soldier  and  hero.  Sir  Henry  Havelock, 
when  he  was  stationed  at  Agra.  Here  he  fre- 
quently preached,  and  here,  most  fittingly,  in 
this  chapel  called  by  his  name,  his  statue  looks 
down  week  by  week  on  the  assembled  Christian 
Endeavorers.  I  am  sure,  were  he  alive  to-day, 
he  would  be  an  Endeavorer  of  heroic  mould. 

Delhi  is  scaicely  second  in  historic  interest 
to  Agra,  and  every  street  of  the  old  town  is 
alive  with  memories  of  the  terrible  siege  of  the 
mutiny  days.  Here  still  stands  the  magnificent 
palace  of  the  weak  old  Grand  Mogul,  who  was 
led  by  his  more  strong-minded  wives  into  a 
futUe  but  terribly  costly  resistance  to  British 
arms.  Here  are  the  walls,  still  standing, 
pierced  and  battered  by  the  shot  and  shell 
which  tell  of  those  awful  days.  But  all  is 
peaceful  now,  and,  looking  on  the  eager  crowd 
of  dark  faces  at  the  Christian  Endeavor  meet- 
ings in  the  Baptist  mission  church,  you  would 


■Mmmsmsmmi 


134 


Fellow  Travellers 


V;^. 


have  found  it  hard  to  believe  that  some  of  the 
most  cruel  deeds  in  all  history  were  enacted 
scarcely  a  stoiie's  throw  away. 

For  these  good  meetings  Christian  Endeavor- 
ers  must  thank  Rev.  S.  S.  Thomas  and  Rev. 
Herbert  Thomas  and  the  ladies  of  the  Zenana 
mission  of  Delhi. 

One  day  in  Delhi,  one  long  night  in  the  train, 
and  in  the  shivery  gray  of  a  frosty  morning  twi- 
light we  find  ourselves  in  Lahore,  the  capital  of 
the  great  province  of  the  Punjab.  Your  good 
friend  and  mine,  Mr.  McGaw  is  with  me  now 
for  the  rest  of  the  journey  in  north  India.  Hb 
is  one  of  the  most  devoted,  modest,  and  earnest 
of  men.  Now  I  can  use  the  pronoun  "we" 
without  any  poetic  or  editorial  license. 

Lahore  is  not  only  a  great  political  centre, 
but  a  great  misfionary  centre  as  well,  especially 
for  the  American  Frssbyterians.  Two  daj  s  the 
Endeavorers  stayed  together  here,  and,  by  be- 
ginning very  early  in  the  uiornings,  managed  to 
find  room  for  eight  Christian  Endeavor  meet- 
ings. 

More  like  a  genuine  Christian  Endeavor  con- 
vention was  uhis  than  any  other  meeting  I  have 
yet  seen  in  India.  Delegates  had  come  from  a 
dozen  different  societies,  some  even  from  the 
famous  Mussoorie  Union  in  the  hills,  a  good 
thirty-six  hours  away  by  rail.  The  atmosphere 
was  warm  and  cordial,  and,  from  the  opening 


^- 


it  some  of  the 
were  enacted 

ian  Endeavor- 
Das  and  Rev. 
of  the  Zenana 

[it  in  the  train, 
J  morning  twi- 
,  the  capital  of 
).  Your  good 
with  me  now 
th  India.  He 
3t,  and  earnest 
ronoun  "we" 
cense. 

olitical  centre, 
well,  especially 
Two  da)  s  the 
re,  and,  by  be- 
gs, managed  to 
Sndeavor  meet- 
Endeavor  con- 
meeting  I  have 
id  come  from  a 
even  from  the 
e  hills,  a  good 
rhe  atmosphere 
tm  the  opening 


Endeavor  in  Historic  India        13^ 

devotional  meeting  to  the  solemn  consecration 
service  at  the  close,  it  was  a  meeting  to  be  re- 
membered. 

Most  delightful  was  the  spirit  of  deep  devo- 
tion displayed  at  every  service.  This  mission 
has  evidently  had  a  peculiar  spiritual  blessing. 

The  convention  was  also  particularly  fortu- 
nate in  the  presence  of  Dr.  John  Henry  Barrows, 
who  not  only  in  Lahore,  but  in  Delhi,  spoke 
glowing  and  eloquent  words  for  Christian  En- 
deavor. You  will  all  be  glad  to  know  that  Dr. 
Barrows's  lectures  in  India  are  most  favorably 
received,  and  are  doing  much  good.  The  preju- 
dice and  misunderstanding  which  at  first  existed 
concerning  his  work  have  disappeared,  and  his 
eloquence  and  sweet  Christian  spirit  have  won 
their  way  to  all  hearts. 

How  I  should  like  to  introduce  you  all  person- 
ally to  the  Ewings,  and  to  Mr.  Velte,  and  Mr. 
Hyde,  and  Dr.  Orbisrn,  and  Mrs.  and  Miss  Stra- 
han  of  Mussoorie,  and  ever  so  many  others  I 
There  were  even  two  Juniors  from  Landour  at 
the  meeting.  By  the  way,  when  you  go  to 
"San  Francisco,  '97,"  look  for  a  tall,  broad- 
shouldered,  eloquen"^  delegate  from  India,  and 
you  will  see  Rev.  J.  C.  R.  Ewing,  D.  D.,  of 
Lahore. 

While  we  were  at  Lahore,  the  blessed  rain 
came  down  from  heaven  upon  the  parched  and 
hungry  ground.     Did  you  ever,  in  your  dreams 


136 


Fellow  Travellers 


even,  imagine  a  starving  nation  ?  Indm  is  that 
to-day.  One  hungry  man  excites  oar  sympathy 
at  home.  Here  are  hungry  millions  of  the 
famished.  For  twelve  good  hours  during  the 
convention  it  rained  as  it  had  not  rained  for 
months.  "It  is  raining  gold,"  said  a  native. 
It  saved  tens  of  thousands  of  lives  undoubtedly 
in  that  one  province,  though  it  was  not  a 
general  rain. 

While  the  showers  of  blessing  were  descend- 
ii.g  within  our  Christian  Endeavor  convention 
hall,  the  other  showers  of  blessings  were  de- 
scending outside;  and  for  both  we  thanked 

God.  . 

Some  of  our  gospel  hymns  will  mean  more  to 
me  hereafter  than  ever  before,— 

"  Lord,  I  hear  of  showers  of  blessing 
Thou  art  scattering  full  and  free, 
Showers  the  thirsty  land  refreshing ; 
Let  some  droppings  fall  on  me." 

•t  Send  showers  of  blessing, 
Send  showers  refreshing, 
Send  us  showers  of  blessing. 
Send  them,  Lord,  we  pray."  ,      f. 


■'■iiii 


V^: 


India  is  that 
oar  sympathy 
illions  of  the 
irs  during  the 
not  rained  for 
said  a  native, 
s  undoubtedly 
it  was  not  a 

were  descend- 
voT  convention 
sings  were  de- 
li we  thanked 

1  mean  more  to 


;ssing 
I  free, 
ibhing ; 
me." 


XXII      ;:x..,,„: /. ..   .^ 

A  OHBISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  MBETINQ  IN  THE  TAJ 
MAHAL 

Christian  Endeavor  meetings  have  been 
held  in  all  sorts  of  unlikely  places. 

I  once  attended  one  in  the  hollow  trunk  of  a 
big  tree  in  California.  I  have  kneeled  with 
other  Endeavorers  in  the  contracted  cabin  of  a 
Japanese  steamer.  I  have  seen  the  "prayer 
shelf "  which  some  earnest  Juniors  of  Turkey 
mounted  that  they  might  find  a  place  for  their 
meeting,  and  also  the  bare,  hot  hillside,  baked 
in  the  glare  of  centuries  of  Indian  sunshine, 
where  some  Juniors  of  western  India  draw  near 
to  God. 

But  the  most  wonderful  spot  for  an  Endeavor 
meeting  was  the  Taj  Mahal,  of  Agra.  Perhaps 
to  say  that  here  on  the  ninth  of  January,  1897, 
was  held  a  meeting  of  Endeavorers,  is  more  cor- 
rect than  to  say  that  it  was  strictly  an  En- 
deavor meeting ;  but  more  of  that  later. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  Taj  is  the 
most  exquisite  building  in  all  the  world.  Archi- 
tects and  artists,  as  well  as  common,  everyday 
travellers  like  myself,  admit  this  fact. 

It  stands  on  the  banks  of  the  sacred  Jumna, 

137 


MHM 


■■■ 


»38 


Fellow  Travellers 


and  was  built  by  the  famous  Shah  Jeaan  as  a 
tomb  for  his  beloved  wife  Murataz.  it  cost 
twenty  millions  of  dollars.  But  these  figures 
give  no  idea  of  its  real  value,  or  of  the  wealth 
lavished  upon  it,  until  we  remember  that  even 
paid  labor  in  India  at  the  present  time  costs 
only  seven  or  eight  cents  a  day,  and  that  the 
Taj  was  built  largely  by  forced  labor  for  which 
nothing  was  paid. 

Twenty  thousand  men  worked  for  twenty- 
two  years  to  make  this  the  grandest  and  most 
exquisite  tomb  that  poor  mortality  ever  occu- 
pied. ,    ,         . 
It  is  entirely  of  white  marble,  from  the  lowest 
course  to  the  topmost  pinnacle  of  the  majestic 
dome,  which  seems  to  soar  like  a  mighty  bubble 
toward  the  sky.    So  kindly  has  the  climate  of 
India  dealt  with  the  Taj,  that,  though  the  year 
1898  marks  the  quarter-millennial  of  its  com- 
pletion, you  would  think  that  only  two  hun- 
dred  and  fifty  days  instead  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  had  passed  over  its  spotless  dome,  so 
unstained  and  unmarred  is  it  by  the  hand  of 

time.  .HI. 

You  approach  the  Taj  through  a  magnificent 
gateway  of  red  sandstone  and  white  marble,  a 
building  which,  anywhere  else  in  the  world, 
would  of  itself  be  a  marvel  worth  a  thousand 
miles  of  travel  to  see.  Just  within  this  gate- 
way you  find  yourself  at  the  edge  of  a  long  and 


M-* 


•riffll'iii"  m 


h  Je'uan  as  a 
itaz.    It  cost 

these  figures 
of  the  wealth 
iber  that  even 
nt  time  costs 

and  that  the 
ibor  for  which 

d  for  twenty- 
idest  and  most 
iity  ever  occu- 

rom  the  lowest 
)f  the  majestic 
mighty  bubble 
the  climate  of 
hough  the  year 
ial  of  its  com- 
only  two  hun- 
ro  hundred  and 
)otles8  dome,  so 
Dy  the  hand  of 

h  a  magnificent 
white  marble,  a 
»  in  the  world, 
jrth  a  thousand 
rithin  this  gate- 
ge  of  a  long  and 


Meeting  in  the  Taj  Mahal        139 

lovely  garden  filled  with  orchids  and  roses  and 
brilliant  flowers  which  we  never  see  in  a  tem- 
perate clime.  Palms  and  orange-trees  and 
huge  banyans  compete  with  humbler  shrubs  to 
add  their  beauty  to  the  garden.  Down  the 
centre  runs  a  long,  shallow  marble  basin,  per- 
haps five  hundred  feet  in  length,  filled  with 
goldfish  and  silverfish,  while  green  parrots  and 
brilliant  tropical  birds  of  a  hundred  sorts  flash 
through  the  checkered  shade  and  sunlight  of 
the  garden. 

This  garden  is  kept  in  perfect  condition  by 
the  British  government,  which  fortunately  now 
hbs  possession  of  the  Taj.  At  the  end  of  this 
vista  of  perfect  loveliness  rises  this  exquisite 
dream  in  white  marble,  absolutely  the  most 
faultless  and  perfectly  satisfying  building  in  all 
the  world. 

"  Hushed,  you  advance,  your  gaze  still  fixed ;  heart,  soul, 

Full  of  the  wonder ;  drinking  in  its  spell 
':  ■  '^       Of  purity  and  mystery,  its  poise 

Magical,  weird,  atrial ;  the  ghost 
:   .         Of  thought  draped  white — as  if  that  Sultan's  sigh 

Had  lived  in  issuing  from  his  love  and  grief 

Immense,  and  taken  huge  embodiment. 

Which  one  rash  word  might  change  from  tomb  to  cloud." 

As  we  approach  nearer,  we  see  that  what  at 
first  looked  like  fleokless  marble  is  made  still 
more  beautiful  by  exquisite  tracery  of  inlaid 
stones  and  gems.    It  is  as  if  the  jeweller's  art 


140 


Fellow  Travellers 


had  combined  with  the  architect's  skiH  to  pro- 
duce the  eighth  wonder  of  the  world. 

Some  of  the  inlaid  work  represents  passages 
from  the  Koran ;  elsewhere  it  is  in  the  shape  of 
scrolls  and  sprays  of  flowers  most  delicately 
colored,  a  hundred  gems  sometimes  being  used 
in  making  a  single  rose.  All  this  marvellous 
tracery  is  scattered  over  the  immense  building 
in  such  lavish  profusion  and  yet  such  exquisite 
taste  that  you  almost  hold  your  breath  in  won- 
der. 

Out  of  the  glare  of  the  intolerable  sun  beat- 
ing down  pitilessly  upon  the  white  marble  we 
pass  within  the  ever  open  portal,  through  an 
inner  screen  of  lacelike  marble,  and  find  our- 
selves at  the  tomb  itself  of  the  beautiful  queen. 
This  is  in  the  exact  centre  of  the  building,  while 
at  one  side,  and  raised  a  little  higher,  is  the 
tomb  of  Shah  Jehan  himself.  Both  of  these 
tombs  are  sprinkled  thick  with  inlaid  jewels. 

«  Blown  tulip  and  closed  rose,  lilies  and  vines. 
All  done  in  cunning,  finished  jewelry 
Of  precious  gems— jasper  and  lazulitc, 
Sardonyx,  onyx,  bloodstone,  golden  stone, 
Carnelian,  jade,  crystal  and  chalcedony. 
Turquoise  and  agate,  and  the  berries  and  fruits 
Heightened  with  coral  points  and  nacre  lights ; 
One  single  spray  set  here  with  fivescore  stones; 
So  that  this  place  of  death  is  made  a  bower 
With  beauteous  grace  of  blossoms  overspread  j 
And  she  who  loVed  her  garden  lieth  now 
Lapped  in  a  garden.    And  all  this  for  love  t " 


-t  «•■-:-■»  !".»-»;'' 


'■'-Sm'k.ii^^HmiiiiSiii^i 


Meeting  in  the  Taj  Mahal         141 


J  skil-  to  pro- 
Id. 

ents  passages 
I  the  shape  of 
)st  delicately 
es  being  used 
lis  marvellous 
ense  building 
uch  exquisite 
reath  in  won- 

ible  sun  beat- 
ite  marble  we 
1,  through  an 
and  find  our- 
uitifnl  queen, 
luilding,  while 
higher,  is  the 
Both  of  these 
laid  jewels. 

nd  vines, 
7 

stone, 
ony, 

!S  and  fruits 
acre  lights ; 
core  stones; 
a  bower 
verspread  ; 
1  now 
for  love  I " 


In  this  inner  tomb  was  the  little  Christian  En- 
deavor meeting  held.  There  were  twelve  or 
thirteen  of  us, — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Potter,  of  the 
English  Baptist  Mission  of  Agra ;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McGaw,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Andrews,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bandy,  Miss  Bailey,  Miss  Forman,  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Mission,  who  had  come 
to  Agra  for  the  Christian  Endeavor  meetings ; 
Mrs.  Mcintosh  and  Miss  Wrigley,  and  other 
ladies  of  the  Baptist  Zenana  Mission. 

We  were  all  seated  upon  the  tombs.  Over- 
head soared  the  vast  dome,  two  hundred  feet 
above  our  heads.  So  perfect  is  this  dome  that 
every  sound  uttered  within  the  tomb  is  echoed 
and  reechoed,  and  echoed  again,  a  hundred 
times,  until  it  dies  away  iu  the  vast  bubble. 
Especially  are  high  musical  tones  reproduced  in 
a  most  weirdly  marvellous  way,  until  you  al- 
most think  that  a  choir  of  ten  thousand  angels 
has  taken  up  the  song,  and  is  chanting  the  re- 
frain begun  on  earth. 

No  light  and  trivial  tune  or  unworthy  jig  can 
here  be  given  with  good  effect,  but  the  sweet 
strains  of  some  of  our  better  popular  hymns 
are  reproduced  with  wonderful  power.  Mrs. 
Potter  is  gifted  with  a  sweet  soprano  voice  and 
under  her  leadership  we  sung, — 

•  Steal  away,  steal  away,  steal  away  to  Jesus." 

Slowly  the  strains  of  this  pathetic  old  negro 


MHM 


142 


Fellow  Travellers 


melody  seemed  to  " steal  away"  to  the  roof  of 
the  gr.eat  dome.  Then  in  softer  cadence  they 
were  reflected  back  to  us.  They  struck  the 
side  of  the  great  marble  balloon,  and  came  back 
once  more,  and  then  again  and  yet  again,  but 
every  time  distinctly  and  clearly,  until  the  air 
was  full  of  "steal  away,"  "steal  away,"  "steal 
away,"  "steal  away,"  "to  Jesus,"  "to  Jesus," 
"  to  Jesus,"  "  to  Jesus,"  loud  and  soft  and  re- 
mote and  near.  The  effect  was  indescribable, 
and  lovely  beyond  measure. 

Then  we  sung  "  At  the  cross,"  and  then  all 
joined  in  repeating  the  Twenty-third  Psalm. 
As  some  other  visitors  entered  the  Taj  at  that 
moment,  and  we  did  not  wish  to  intrude  upon 
them  in  a  public  place,  we  closed  our  little 

meeting. 

Though  it  was  a  Mohammedan  tomb,  the 
surroundings  were  not  so  inappropriate  as  one 
might  think,  for  on  the  tomb  of  Murataz  herself 
are  engraved  the  ninety-nine  names  which  the 
Moslems  have  for  God.     Over  the  great  gate- 
way is  written,  in  Persian  characters,  "The 
pure  of  heart  shall  enter  the  gardens  of  God"; 
and  in  this  house  of  death  itself  is  inscribed 
this  beautiful  sentiment  from  the  Koran :  "  Saith 
Jesus  (on  whom  be  peace):  'This  world  is  a 
bridge ;  pass  thou  over  it,  but  build  not  upon 
it.    This  world  is  one  hour ;  give  its  minutes  to 
thy  prayers ;  for  the  rest  is  unseen.' " 


-V  .ytfj^rW-tUftiJiM^ -»»■.*<: *'iLl''0»"'.^''i!* 


Meeting  in  the  Taj  Mahal         143 


to  the  roof  of 
r  'jadence  they 
ey  struck  the 
and  came  back 
yet  again,  but 
y,  until  the  air 
away,"  "steal 
,"  "  to  Jesus," 
id  soft  and  re- 
i  indescribable, 


Christian  Endeavor  meetings  have  been  held 
in  many  a  beautiful  temple  before,  but  never,  I 
think,  in  such  a  wondrous  tomb  temple  as  the 
Taj  Mahal. 


4:    ii\;'K- 


*i)     t  ■ 


1,"  and  then  all 
y-third  Psalm, 
the  Taj  at  that 
o  intrude  upon 
>8ed  our  little 


dan  tomb,  the 

)ropriate  as  one 

Mumtaz  herself 

anies  which  the 

the  great  gate- 

aracters,  "The 

rdensof  God"; 

self  is  inscribed 

Koran:  "Saith 

This  world  is  a 

build  not  upon 

^e  its  minutes  to 


een. 


» f» 


XXIII 


■f 


?! 


'?:•! 
•^ 


s. 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  ON  THE  GANGES 

Saturday,  January  17,  found  us  at  Fateh- 
garh,  a  city  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges,  and  a 
sort  of  Mecca  for  me,  on  this  Christian  En- 
deavor pilgrimage.  Here  is  a  colony  of  four 
missionary  families  of  the  Presbyterian  mission, 
the  two  Formans,  a  name  fragrant  in  mission- 
ary annals  in  India,  the  McGaws,  and  the  Ban 
dys,  two  of  the  most  prominent  Christian  En- 
deavorers  of  India.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Andrews, 
too,  ran  down  on  their  wheels,  a  little  matter  of 
forty  miles,  from  another  station. 

When  Sunday  morning  came,  we  all  repaired, 
bright  and  early,  to  the  mission  church;  and 
there  indeed  a  Christian  Endeavor  welcome 
awaited  us.  Over  the  arched  gateway  was  the 
word  "  Welcome,"  both  in  English  and  in  Hin- 
dustanee.  By  the  way,  when  next  you  come  to 
see  me  at  my  house,  you  will  find  yourself  wel- 
comed in  the  same  words,  in  the  graceful,  flow- 
ing Persian  characters,  as  well  as  in  thirteen 
other  languages,  over  the  front  porch. 

Within  the  church,  too,  was  every  outward 
and  visible  sign  of  the  inward  and  spiritual 
greetings.  The  church  looked  like  a  beautiful 
garden,  with  its  palms  and  bamboos  and  brilliant 

144 


lik' 


B  aAMOBS 

US  at  Fiiteh- 
Ganges,  and  a 
Christian  En- 
iolony  of  four 
terian  mission, 
lat  in  niission- 
,  and  the  Ban 

Christian  En- 
^rs.  Andrews, 
little  matter  of 

eve  all  repaired, 
[1  church ;  and 
lavor  welcome 
iteway  was  the 
sh  and  in  Hin- 
xt  you  come  to 
d  yourself  wel- 
graceful,  flow- 
as  in  thirteen 
porch. 

every  outward 
1  and  spiritual 
like  a  beautiful 
)os  and  brilliant 


Endeavor  on  the  Ganges  149 

flowers  of  various  hues,  while  behind  the  pulpit 
were  banners  and  streamers  with  familiar  mot- 
toes, '♦  Hind  Maseh  ka  Howe,"  "  India  for 
Christ,"  "Masih  aur  Kali8Yia  Kkliye," 
*'  For  Christ  and  the  church,"  in  the  Romanized 
Urdu  character.  I  begged  two  of  the  mottoes 
for  "  San  Francisco,  '97,"  so  that  you  as  well  as 
myself  might  have  the  benefit  of  them. 

It  has  been  my  pleasant  fortune  to  receive 
many  greetings  on  your  behalf,  my  fellow  En- 
deiivorers,  in  many  languages ;  but  I  do  not  re- 
member when  I  have  ever  before  received  from 
a  bard  a  welcome  in  Persian  verse.  To  be  sure, 
I  could  not  understand  it;  and  I  had  to  beg 
from  the  poet  a  translation  of  his  verses.  At  the 
same  place,  also,  I  received  the  gavel  and  block, 
studded  with  native  state,  rupees  of  silver, 
which  are  to  be  used  in  culling  to  order  the 
convention  at  San  Francisco  next  July.  These 
were  presented  by  the  wide-jtwake  and  ever-en- 
terprising local  union  of  Mussoorie,  the  hill 
station  where  the  missionaries  congregate  in 
the  summer.  ^ 

We  had  two  pleasant  meetings  in  this  church, 
and  no  one  could  ever  have  had  so  good  an  in- 
terpreter, it  seems  to  me,  as  it  was  my  good  for- 
tune to  have  in  Rev.  John  Forman,  a  mission- 
ary's son,  who  was  born  and  bred  in  the  coun- 
try, and  haii  now  come  back  to  take  his  father's 
place.     Almost  before  the  words  came  from  my 


»..  *«*.w-^ 


■■■i 


?k: 


.46 


Fellow  Travellers 


lips  he  would  take  tliem  up  and  translate  them 
into  beautiful  and  fluent  Hindustanee  without 
hesitation  or  break,  so  that  it  seemed  almost 
like  one  continuous  speech  in  two  different  lan- 
guages. O  that  some  of  the  interpreters  from 
whom  I  have  suffered  many  things  in  many 
lands  could  have  heard  this  brilliant  feat  in 
translation,  so  that  they  might  realize  what  it 
is  to  enter  into  the  spirit  as  well  as  into  the 
mere  verbal  performance  of  an  interpreter's 

task ! 

But  the  pleasantest  day  must  come  to  an  end, 
and  so  did  this  delightful  Sunday.  The  next 
day  found  us  pushing  on  to  Allahabad,  a  great 
central  city  of  India.  Here  are  two  Christian 
Endeavor  societies,  one  in  the  Methodist  and 
one  in  the  Baptist  church ;  and  two  very  pleas- 
ant meetings  we  had,  in  both  of  which  I  could 
use  my  mother  tongue,  and  speak  in  the  best 
English,  or,  rather,  the  best  Americanese,  I 
conlu  nvuster. 

The  society  in  the  Methodist  church  is  one 
of  the  oldest  in  India,  and  to  the  hospitable  par- 
sonage of  Mr.  Clancy  T  was  welcomed  again,  as 
on  a  previous  visit.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clancy  were 
away  at  the  annual  conference  of  their  church, 
.but  they  had  left  some  good  representatives  in 
their  stead,  and  the  reception  which  followed 
the  evening  address  was  one  of  the  most  pleas- 
ant of  social  occasions. 


■UWi 


"t%W*^ 


*<$.  ■^v.%'#r>Ji^^^ia^»»»'**'^ 


mmm 


D 


translate  them 
ttaiiee  without 
seemed  almost 
0  different  Inn- 
.erpreters  from 
liings  in  many 
rilliant  feat  in 
realize  what  it 
reW  as  into  the 
Q  interpreter's 

3ome  to  an  end, 
lay.  The  next 
ihabad,  a  great 
3  two  Christian 
Methodist  and 
two  very  ploas- 
:  which  I  could 
eak  in  the  best 
Americanese,  I 

st  church  is  one 
B  hospitable  par- 
Icomed  again,  as 
[rs.  Clancy  were 
of  their  church, 
ipresentatives  in 
which  followed 
the  most  pleas- 


Endeavor  on  the  Ganges  147 

Benares  is  only  three  hours  by  rail  from  Al- 
lahabad, and  here  we  were  welcomed  by  the 
representatives  of  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety, though  as  yet  there  are  no  Christian  En- 
deavor societies  in  the  sacred  city.  During  the 
twenty-four  hours  in  Benares  two  good  meet- 
ings in  the  interest  of  Christian  Endeavor  were 
held.  One  was  for  the  Ilindustanee  Chris- 
tians, at  which  I  was  assisted  hy  another  most 
admirable  interpreter,  Mr.  Mookerje<3,  the  head 
master  of  the  high  school.  A  d/awing-room 
reception  and  meeting  for  all  the  missionaries 
of  the  station,  was  also  held  in  tbd  hospitable 
and  spacious  parlors  of  the  bungalow  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society.  A  thousand  thanks 
to  my  kind  friends  who  have  made  these  mem- 
orable days  so  profitable  to  the  cause  of  Chris- 
tian Endeavor, — -a  vote  of  thanks  in  which  a 
million  Christian  Endeavorers,  I  am  sure,  will 
join.  Is  the  motion  carried  ?  I  think  I  hear 
you  all  say,  ♦'  Ay." 


L^-T"--**  1^'^y^  '*'i™'**rft3?l*ci?  in 


tm 


M 


4 


% 


XXIV 

AN  HOUE  ON  THE  GANGBS 

In  some  quarters  the  idea  seems  to  prevail 
that  one  religion  is  quite  as  good  as  another ; 
thai.  Christianity  is  merely  a  cult  derived  from 
the  fathers,  and  largel>'  a  matter  of  heredity 
and  environment,  but  Liiat  Hinduism  is  quite 
as  good  "or  India,  and  Buddhism  for  China,  as 
Christianity  for  America. 

I    should    like  to  take  Christians  of    this 
flabby,  jelly-fish  structure  on  a  personally  con- 
ducted visit  to  Benares,  the  most  sacred  city  of 
all  the  world  to  the   Hinius.    To  this  city 
more  millions  of  human  hearts  turn  as  to  their 
Mecca  than  to  any  other  city  in  the  world. 
Here  we  find  Hinduism  in  its  most  orthodox 
form— in  all  its  loathsomeness  and  corruption. 
It  is  the  metropolis  of  the  Hindu  faith.    In  all 
its  filth  and  utter  vileness  can  heathenism  here 
be  studied  as  nowhere  else  in  the  world.     It  is 
the  most  characteristic  of  heathen  cities.    Hin- 
duism is  not  distorted  or  exaggerated,  it  simply 
comes  to   its  rank  and  poisonous  flower  and 

fruitage. 

Let  us  take  one  of  the  many  boats  thai,  are 
tied  to  the  shores  of  the  Ganges,  and  float 

148 


MRI 


aiES 

ms  to  prevail 
d  as  another ; 
I  derived  from 
jr  of  heredity 
Luisin  is  quite 
I  for  China,  as 

jtians  of  this 
jersonally  con- 
,  sacred  city  of 

To  this  city 
urn  as  to  their 

in  the  world, 
most  orthodox 
md  corruption, 
u  faith.  In  all 
eathenism  here 
le  world.  It  is 
»n  cities.  Hin- 
rated,  it  simply 
ous  flower  and 

y  boats  thai-  are 
mges,  and  float 


An  Hour  on  the  Ganges  149 

slowly  down  tlie  sacred  stream  before  the 
palaces  and  temples.  First  wo  come  to  a  great 
bathing  ghat,  as  it  is  called,  where  hundreds  of 
men  and  women  are  engaged  in  washing  away 
the  vilest  character  stains  in  the  holy  river. 
The  water  is  foul  and  muddy  enough,  in  all 
conscience,  and  would  seem  to  leave  more  spots 
than  it  would  cleanse ;  but  into  it  wade  boldly 
the  devout  pilgrims,  laving  in  and  lapping 
eagerly  the  filthy  stream.  Behind  the  walls  of 
the  palaces  which  line  the  banks  of  the  stream, 
we  are  told,  are  "  multitudes  of  aged  people, 
come  together  from  all  parts  of  India,  waiting 
with  calm,  patient,  ecstatic  happiness  the  sum- 
mons of  the  Angel  of  Death;  for  he  who  is 
fortunate  enough  to  die  in  Benares  goes  straight 
to  glory." 

As  we  glide  down  the  river  we  see  many 
fakirs,  with  long,  matted,  rope-like  locks,  their 
bodies  smeared  with  white  ashes,  looking  like 
bleached  corpses  rather  than  healthy  human 
beings.  There  is  one  fakir  standing  on  one 
leg.  How  long  he  stands !  Two,  three,  five, 
ten  minutes!  Our  bones  ache  in  sympathy 
with  his,  but  he  is  winning  priceless  years  of 
glory  by  this  act  of  devotion. 

There  is  another  fakir  doubling  himself  up 
in  a  most  absurd  and  ludicrous  way,— if  one 
ha-.,  the  heart  to  see  the  ludicrous  side  of  things 
timid  such  surroundings.    First  he  touches  the 


ni-r«-r-rr ijTiiTMni  iMH 


WM^ 


•riVi. 


150 


Fellow  Travellers 


:i 


top  of  his  crown  to  the  soil.  Then  he  l.-.ys 
himself  out  at  full  length  on  the  dusty  bank. 
Then  he  doubles  himself  up,  as  you  would  be- 
lieve only  a  practised  acrobat  could  do,  until 
his  head  appears  between  his  distended  legs, 
and  his  shoulder-blades  bcrape  the  dusty  soil. 
He  is  one  of  the  preachers  of  this  Eastern  faith ; 
and  the  thought  irresistibly  occurs  to  one,  What 
a  tremendous  audience  could  our  sensational 
ministers  {(t  home  draw,  if  they  would  but  take 
lessons  of  this  acrobatic  Hindu  preacher  I 

And  there  is  a  boy  of  twelve  or  fifteen  wash- 
ing his  sins  away  in  the  same  holy  stream. 
From  the  top  of  his  head,  which  otherwise  is 
shaven  close,  hangs  a  long  lock  of  black  hair, 
— the  lock  by  which  he  believes  the  good  angel 
will  seize  him,  when  he  is  hanging  over  the 
brink  of  perdition,  and  drag  him  back  into 
Paradise. 

Some  of  the  pilgrims  are  not  only  using  the 
holy  water  for  cleansing  purposes,  but  a  kind 
of  fuller's  earth  as  well,  in  lieu  of  soap.  They 
will  not  use  soap  because  it  contains  animal  fat. 

As  we  leave  the  river,  and  mount  the  steep 
and  dirty  steps,  we  come  very  soon  to  the  very 
holy  of  holies  of  Benares,  the  famous  temple 
of  the  awful  Siva.  This  is  called  the  Golden 
Temple,  though  there  is  very  little  gold  about  it, 
two  of  the  turrets  only  being  gilded  with  the 
precious  metal. 


mwi.iy.n.. 


>wt 


■tm 


■sas 


An  Hour  on  the  Ganges  \r\ 

Here  is  the  very  centre  and  essence  of  Hin- 
duism. A  marble  slab  upon  the  wall  tells  ua 
that  those  who  do  not  profess  the  Hindu  re- 
ligion are  requested  not  to  enter  the  temple ; 
but  we  are  allowed  to  go  upon  a  neighboring 
house-top  and  look  down  within  its  dirty  pre- 
cincts. The  marble  floor  of  the  temple  is  ab- 
solutely, thick  with  mud  and  offal,  the  bare  feet 
of  the  worshippers  leaving  a  momentary  white 
track  upon  the  pavement,  which  the  thick  ooze 
soon  covers. 

More  than  any  other  god,  Siva,  we  are  told, 
"  is  cruel,  and  exacts  a  bloody  worship.  He  is 
the  ruler  of  evil  spirits,  ghouls,  and  vampires, 
and  at  nightfall  -he  prov/ls  about  in  their  com- 
pany iu  places  of  execution  and  where  there 
iii-e  buried  dead.  He  is  the  god,  too,  of  mad, 
frantic  folly,  who,  clothed  in  the  bloody  skin  of 
an  elephant,  leads  the  wild  dance  of  Tandava. 
He  is  the  god  of  the  Ascetics.  This  fear vul 
sect  go  naked,  smutty  with  ashes,  their  long 
matted  hair  twisted  around  their  heads.  Oth- 
ers follow  hideous  secret  rites  of  blood,  lust, 
gluttony,  drunkenness,  and  incantations.  0th- 
era  pose  themselves  in  immovable  attitudes  till 
the  sinews  shrink  and  the  posture  becomes  rigid. 
O  '  ers  tear  their  bodies  with  knives,  or  devour 
carrion  or  excrements." 

Such  is  the  chief  god  of  the  Golden  Temple 
of  Benares,  and  such  is  the  object  of  devoutest 


^1. 

{  ■ 
1  ■■ 


i' 


i! 


I 

■■' 


;i  I 


I 


152 


Fellow  Travellers 


Hindu  worship.  But  the  Golden  Templd  is 
not  the  only  one  in  Benares,  by  any  means. 
There  are  hundreds  of  other  little  temples 
wedged  into  every  conceivable  nook  of  the  holy 
city.  Great  temples  claiming  their  worshippers 
by  thousands;  monkey  temples,  about  which 
the  simian  caricatures  of  humanity  scamper  and 
grin  at  the  spectators,  for  all  the  world  as  though 
they  were  on  exhibition  in  Central  Park  or  the 
Philadelphia  Zoo. 

Another  temple  which  every  traveller  visits  is 
that  of  the  Goddess  of  Plenty,  the  patroness 
of  beggars.  Around  the  doors  of  this  temple 
are  scores  of  mendicants  with  their  bowls, 
waiting  for  the  handfuls  of  rice  which  the 
devout  worshipper  is  sure  to  throw  them,  while, 
within,  the  temple  is  filled  with  sacred  bulls  and 
cows,  whose  ordure  and  uncleansed  filth  make 
it  extremely  uninviting  to  sight  and  smell.  In 
fact,  so  utterly  filthy  is  the  floor  of  this  temple 
that  one  does  not  venture  within,  though  he  is 
freely  allowed  to  enter,  but  contents  himself 
with  a  glimpse  from  a  side  door.  No  self-re* 
specting  American  farmer  would  allow  his  burn- 
yard  or  his  cow-house  floor  to  become  as  filthy 
as  this  most  sacred  temple. 

But  we  cannot  go  the  rounds  of  all  these 
sacred  spots  this  morning ;  it  would  take  days 
and  weeks  to  "  do  "  them  thoroughly ;  what  we 
have  seen  shows  us  the  genius  of  Hinduism, 


■JXIIHillMilHI-UffWr'  .. 


empld  is 
y  means, 
temples 
'  the  holy 
rshippers 
lit  which 
mper  and 
IS  though 
rk  or  the 

ir  visits  is 
patroness 
ia  temple 
ir  bowls, 
hich  the 
mi,  while, 
bulls  and 
ilth  make 
tnell.  In 
is  temple 
ugh  he  is 
s  himself 
fo  self-re- 
'  his  burn- 
)  as  filthy 

all  these 

take  days 

what  we 

linduism, 


An  Hour  on  the  Ganges  153 

mach  vaunted,  widely  lauded  Hinduism, — the 
religion  which  some  sestlietic  Americans,  ever 
itching  for  a  new  sensation,  have  thought  might 
take  the  place  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  or  at 
least  take  its  place  side  by  side  with  the  faith 
of  the  lowly  Nazarene. 

Contrast  for  a  single  moment  the  religion  of 
the  Bible  with  the  religion  of  Benares, — the 
temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  with  the  temple  of 
Siva,  the  stone  bull,  dirty  with  the  dust  and 
grease  of  ages,  with  the  Christian's  conception 
of  the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sins 
of  the  world.  In  fact,  the  only  antidote  needed 
to  the  claims  of  the  lackadaisical  toleration  of 
all  religions  ns  equally  uplifting  to  the  race,  is 
an  hour  on  the  Ganges  or  among  the  temples 
of  Benares. 


W 


( 


"■ 


■'  ■ 


ri 


}    ] 

( 


«J>'< 


'4-':' 


XXV 


THE  FAMINE  AT  SHORT  RANGE 


I. 


In  the  lands  of  the  Occident  hunger  is  almost 
an  unknown  thing.  To  be  sure,  we  have  the 
perpetually  hungry  small  boy.  He  is  ever  with 
us.  But  his  hunger  is  of  the  healthy  and  whole- 
some sort,  and  a  plate  of  cakes  i»  a  panacea  for 
all  his  troubles. 

One  often  sees,  too,  the  professional  beggar 
with  the  stereotyped  plea  of  hunger  and  star- 
vation, with  tlie  seven  small  children  waiting  at 
home  for  the  daily  crust.  When  the  seven 
small  children  are  investigated,  however,  it  is 
often  found  that  they  are  mythical  characters, 
and  that  the  starvation  plea  is  assumed  as  part 
of  his  stock  in  trade. 

Of  course  I  am  not  saying  that  there  is  not 
real  destitution  and  actual  hunger  found  oc- 
casionally among  the  very  poor  in  the  great 
cities  of  both  America  and  Great  Britain. 
But  these  cases  are  so  sporadic  and  exceptional 
that  they  give  us  no  idea  of  the  dreadfulness  of 
famine. 

But  in  India  to-day  the  famine  is  not  a  mere 
sentiment,  not  a  far-away  abstraction,  not  even 
a  dreadful  possibility,  but  an  actual  and  terrible 
reality. 

IM 


r  is  almost 
have  the 
ever  with 
nd  whole- 
inacea  for 

al  beggar 
'  and  star- 
waiting  at 
the  seven 
ever,  it  is 
haracterd, 
ed  as  part 

lere  is  not 
found  oc- 
the  great 
b  Britain, 
cceptional 
[fulness  of 

lot  a  mere 
,  not  even 
id  terrible 


The  Famine  at  Short  Range      155 

A  single  hungry  man  or  woman  is  a  pitiable 
object.  If  such  a  one  is  found  in  the  country 
districts  of  old  England  or  New  England,  how 
the  provisions  flow  in  upon  him !  Apples  and 
potatoes,  flour  and  bacon,  and  any  quantity  of 
the  good  things  of  life,  make  his  heart  glad ; 
and  a  thrill  of  horror  would  be  felt  by  every 
one  in  the  community  if  it  were  thought  that 
there  was  a  starving  man  at  their  doors. 

But  multiply  one  starving  man  by  a  thou- 
sand, and  then  multiply  this  thousand  by  a 
thousand  more,  and  this  million  by  ten  again, 
and  then  you  have  scarcely  compassed  the  num- 
ber of  the  hungry  men,  women,  and  children  in 
the  great  empire  of  India.  Not  that  so  great  a 
number  is  starving,  but  all  are  suffering  more 
or  less  from  privation. 

But  these  figures  can  give  a  very  faint  idea 
of  the  real  horrors  of  the  situation.  One 
must  actually  see  the  gaunt  and  hungry  faces, 
the  bony  arms  and  legs  from  which  every 
particle  of  tissue  has  wasted  away ;  one  must 
look  into  the  hollow  eyes,  and  see  the  skeleton- 
like  breasts  on  which  every  rib  stands  out  like 
the  ribs  of  an  umbrella;  one  must  see  the 
pitiable  hands  stretched  out  for  a  handful  of 
grain,  and  see  the  wretched  recipients  gulp  it 
down  with  famished  eagerness,  ungronnd  and 
uncooked.  Then,  after  seeing  one  such  throng 
as  this,  let  him  try  to  realize  that  he  has  but 


,fi 


^1 


I    ; 


i 

i 


i    J  - 


J 


■■■ 


.56 


Fellow  Travellers 


seen  one  or  two  hundreds  of  the  millions  who 
are  suffering  from  the  pangs  of  hunger,  and, 
ever  after,  famine  becomes  a  real  and  dreadful 
thing  to  him. 

In  many  parts  of  India  I  have  seen  the  relief 
worka  started  by  the  government;  for,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  foresight  and  enterprise  of  the 
British  government,  the  suffering  would  have 
been  far  worse  than  it  is.  Everywhere  relief 
works  have  been  opened,  and,  as  you  drive 
along  the  dusty  highways,  you  see  hundreds, 
and  sometimes  thousands,  of  people  in  the  fields 
gathering  stones,  and  other  hundreds  breaking 
them  into  small  pieces  for  the  excellent  ma- 
cadamized roads  which  are  found  throughout 
India.  In  fact,  the  government  has  on  hand  in 
many  parts  of  the  country  a  stock  of  road  ma- 
terial which  it  cannot  use  for  years.  But  th« 
object  is  not  so  much  to  build  roads,  or  to  keep 
them  in  repair,  as  to  provide  work  and  wages 
for  the  hungry  road  makers. 

Of  course  when  there  are  so  many  needy 
ones  the  money  must  be  made  to  go  as  far  aa 
possible,  and  no  extravagant  wages  are  paid 
these  road-builders.  The  able-bodied  men  re- 
ceive two  annas  (two  pence)  for  a  day's  work ; 
the  women,  one  anna  (one  penny);  the  chil- 
dren, six  pies  (a  halfpenny);  and  even  the 
babies  in  arms,  who  are  brought  to  the  field  of 
operation,  though  their  puny  little  arms  could 


The  Famine  at  Short  Range       157 

not  lift  a  pebble  as  big  as  a  walnut,  are  entered 
upon  the  libt  of  famine-relief  laborers,  and  are 
gravely  paid  at  the  end  of  the  twenty-four 
hours  one  pice  (one  farthing)  for  their  day's 
labor. 

Many  hundreds  of  thousands,  if  not  millions, 
are  now  enrolled  by  the  government  in  these 
relief  works,  and  the  number  is  constantly  in- 
creasing. No  applicant,  worthy  or  unworthy, 
is  turned  away.  If  only  he  has  the  passport  of 
genuine  want  and  hunger,  he  is  given  some- 
thing to  do,  and  receives  his  penny  at  the  day's 
end.  Even  in  this  land  of  cheap  prices  it  must 
not  be  supposed  that  for  two  annas  one  can  fare 
sumptuously  qvery  day ;  but  that  sum  will  buy 
enough  of  the  cheaper  sort  of  grain  to  keep  the 
wolf  from  tiie  door,  or,  rather,  partially  to  sat- 
isfy the  intolerable  craving  of  hunger. 

All  our  Western  similes  and  figures  of  speech 
Bcem  absolutely  inadequate  to  the  occasion. 
For  instance,  the  one  I  have  just  used,  of  the 
wolf  at  the  door,  is  absurdly  tame.  The  wolf 
of  hunger  is  always  at  the  door  of  most  of  the 
hovels  of  India.  The  poor  people  never  think 
of  driving  him  far  away.  They  simply  "  shoo  " 
him  from  the  door-step,  as  the  old  housewife  ' 
would  scare  away  the  too  familiar  chickens 
that  intrude  upon  her  domain;  but  as  for 
actually  keeping  the  wolf  out  of  sight,  it  is  an 
unheard-of  thing  in  India.    Every  year  there 


!: 


'i 


J 


•58 


Fellow  Travellers 


/■'■  I 


ia  more  or  losa  famine  in  some  section  of  the 
country.  Every  yenr  the  crops  fuil  somewhere, 
and,  though  tlio  wise  forethought  of  a  palernnl 
government,  Hiid  the  multiplication  of  rnilways, 
and  hence  the  ability  to  transport  gruin  swiftly 
from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another,  have 
greatly  diminislied  the  danger  and  the  suffer- 
ing, yet  in  the  best  of  years  many  parts  of 
India  are  always  on  famine's  ragged  edge. 

The  most  pathetic  sight  which  I  have  wit- 
nessed in  India  was  a  crowd  of  hungry  beggars 
that  gathered  one  Sunday  afternoon  near  the  mis- 
sion bungalow  of  Rev.  Mr.  Wharton,  in  PTarda 
in  the  Central  Provinces.  Along  the  roadside 
were  these  dreadful  skeletons,  lining  the  path- 
way to  the  house  for  fully  an  eighth  of  a  mile, 
crowded  together  on  each  side  as  thickly  as 
they  could  "  squat."  Destitution  and  suffering 
were  written  on  every  face.  Some  doubtless 
were  professional  beggars;  but  even  profes- 
sional beggars  may  be  hungry,  and  the  eager 
way  in  which  they  snatchet^  the  handful  of 
grain  which  we  were  able  to  give  them  showed 
that  starvation  was  to  them  a  very  real  and 
dreadful  thing. 

Almost  more  pitiable  than  the  human  suffer- 
ing is  that  of  the  poor  starved  beasts  that  can- 
not speak  for  tlomselves.  All  over  India  the 
♦'  gharrie  "  horses  have  felt  the  famine  most  bit- 
terly ;  the  prices  of  grain  and  fodder  have  every- 


..■^■^.■««tt»^Mjr3t,ma 


■"S^l' 


The  Famine  at  Short  Range       i  ^9 

where  risen  enormously  ;  the  masters  are  fain  to 
eat  the  husks,  or  rather  the  poor  and  chenp  grain 
which  otherwise  they  would  give  to  the  beasts 
of  labor,  and  often  the  poor  horse  goes  hungry. 

Such  bags  of  bones,  such  travesties  of  horses, 
such  slow-moving  horse-like  quadrupeds,  I  never 
saw  outside  of  this  dry  and  thirsty  land.  The 
blows  of  the  drivers  resounding  from  their  hol- 
low ribs  send  a  throb  of  pity  to  every  com- 
passionate heart,  and  one  longs  for  a  Mr. 
Bergh  or  a  Mr.  Angell  to  arise  for  India,  and  to 
inaugurate  "  the  society  with  the  long  name  " 
in  every  village  and  hamlet. 

The  only  thing  that  the.Hindus  can  think  of 
doing  to  avert  the  famine  is  to  pray  to  their 
rain-god  for  relief.  Wherever  the  rain-god  has 
a  temple,  he  is  this  year  drenched  in  water  to 
remind  him  of  the  dry  weather  outside  his 
temple. 

Sometimes,  indeed,  he  is  immersed  in  a  tank 
of  water,  so  that  he  may  become  thoroughly 
wet  through,  and  thus  be  inclined  to  relieve  the 
drought.  But  alas!  alas!  in  many  parts  of 
India  the  heavens  are  still  as  brass,  and  no 
showers  of  blessing  fall  on  the  parched  ground. 
In  some  places,  however,  the  winter  rains 
have  come,  and  O  how  refreshing  they  are  I 
No  one  outside  of  arid  India  can  realize  what 
they  mean.  '♦  It  is  raining  gold,"  said  a  Hindu, 
as  the  showers  began  to  fall  in  the  Punjab ;  "  it 


\  • 


11 


i6o 


Fellow  Travellers 


is  raining  gold  " ;  and  so,  indeed,  it  was.  But, 
though  the  rains  may  come  and  relieve  to  Boiue 
extent  the  suffering,  there  will  still  be  u  vast 
amount  of  misery  this  year  and  next  an  well. 
Everywhere  Christian  hearts  should  be  open, 
and  Christian  pockets  as  well,  to  give  gener- 
ously to  this  famine-stricken  people,  and  may 
the  bread  of  wheat  and  corn  which  the  people 
receive  open  their  hearts  to  receive  the  Bread 
of  life,  the  true  bread  which  ame  down  from 
heaven,  which  if  a  man  eat  lie  shall  never  die. 


i^  '^.^ti^-  ™^.-**i,fe^"Wu-":,  IU*^iSMI^t*6^ 


^ 


But, 
0  some 

a  vast 
i»  well. 
i  upen, 

gener- 
id  may 

people 
)  Bread 
n  from 
9r  die. 


XXVI 

ROCKED  ON  THE  BOSOM  OF  THE  GANOKS 

How  shall  I  describe  those  recent  days,  my 
dear  fellow  travellers?  As  I  write,  I  am  being 
rocked  on  the  broad  bosom  of  the  Ganges  in  a 
missionary  house-boat  on  which  we  are  slowly 
making  the  journey,  towed  by  noolies,  up  into 
the  heart  of  the  delta  of  the  Ganges,  where  the 
Bengalee  Christian  Endeavor  conveutiou  for 
whioh  we  are  bound  is  to  be  held. 

I  could  fill  a  small  volume  with  the  novel  and 
unique  experiences  of  the  last  two  days ;  but 
then,  to  make  them  vivid,  I  should  need  not 
only  to  use  my  Bull's-eye  camera,  and  to  get 
the  publishers  to  allow  me  to  fill  my  book  full 
of  snap-shots  from  cover  to  cover,  but  I  should 
also  need  the  brush  of  an  artist  to  paint  the 
cocoanut-palms,  the  date-trees  and  bananas 
along  the  banks ;  the  gorgeous  birds  that  flit 
thrrugh  the  trees,  and  the  still  more  gorgeous 
natives,  in  mahogany  skins  and  red,  orange, 
grp"  tnd  white  cloths,  that  line  the  banks, 
ai\d  O'J  the  narrow  streets  of  the  straw-built 
v!!-^5,»e.  that  we  are  continually  passing. 

i  f:.i:  quite  in  despair  about  taking  you  with 
im  J'     .uy  adequate,  satisfaotory  way  on  this, 

181 


-»^!^i(^»kK-^tdl^,i3ff^Mii^!^i»v:.-^ 


■     VTIf^l^** 


l62 


Fellow  Travellers 


the  most  novel  Christian  Endeavor  journey  I 
have  ever  taken.  However,  here  are  the  bare 
facts.  We  left  Calcutta  in  the  evening  by  train, 
and  after  riding  all  night  we  reached  Khoolna 
on  the  Ganges,  where  there  awaited  us  a  little 
stern-wheel  steamer,  which  kicked  the  water 
out  behind  with  a  vigorous  splash. 

Just  at  dawn  it  started.  The  owls  were 
hooting  their  last  hoot  for  the  night ;  the  jackals 
were  slinking  away  from  the  daylight,  and  all 
the  rest  of  the  world  was  waking  up  to  begin 
a  new  day. 

This  whole  country  is  a  perfect  lace-work  of 
waterways,  great  and  small.  The  Ganges  dis- 
charges its  immense  volume  of  water,  borne 
down  from  the  snow}^  Himalayas,  through  a 
dozen  different  mouths,  each  of  them  a  wide 
estuary  of  onrushing  water.  Between  these 
large  streams  are  iiaiumerable  little  creeks  and 
canals,  through  which  our  steamer  threads  its 
way,  sometimes  under  tl'S  overhanging  branches 
of  palms  a:.d  plantains,  which  sweep  the  deck 
with  their  laden  boughs.  The  streams,  little 
or  big,  are  alive  with  boats  large  and  small,  and 
the  boats  are  alive  with  men  and  women  and 
boys  and  girls. 

Our  litt'e  steamer  makes  great  havoc  among 
them  in  tie  narrow  canals,  first  sucking  away 
the  water  i'rom  beneath  their  keels,  and  then 
tossing  them  up,  sometimes  high  and  dry  oa 


Kiit'^B^HfifiSS 

I  i-  -^if 

wM 

^^K<       'n^B 

fc  -     ■* 

Fl-di 

K 

^^^ 

vSW 

■1 

-    oa 


2    z 

Id 


^     J 


_    z 

2  is 


7-j 

H 
O 

X 
in 

< 
u 


o 

t/5 


■J  •-) 


f  wni  > 


W 


On  the  Bosom  of  the  Ganged     163 

the  low  shore,  as  the  water  rushes  back.  When 
they  see  us  coming,  the  hoatmen  all  scramble 
on  board  pell-mell,  and  hold  on  to  their  frail 
craft  for  dear  life,  until  the  steam  monster, 
which  so  disturbs  their  placid  waters,  has  rushed 
by. 

Thus  all  day  long  we  journey  until  evening 
shades  infold  us  and  the  steamer  draws  near  to 
Barisal.  Look!  what  is  that  line  of  wavering 
light  coming  down  the  village  street  between 
the  mud  huts  ?  Nothing  more  nor  less,  my  fel- 
low travellers,  than  a  torchlight  procession  of 
Christian  Endeavorers  coming  down  to  the 
wharf  to  meet  us ;  for  Christian  Endeavor  has 
found  its  way  into  ,  swamps  of  the  Ganges, 
and  is  a  living,  vital  force  here. 

Soon  we  were  in  the  comfortable  bungalow 
of  Rev.  William  Carey,  a  great-grandson  of 
the  great  missionary  of  the  same  name,  who  is 
working  out  the  Christian  Endeavor  problem 
for  India  more  fully  than  any  one  else.  He  has 
already  formed  more  than  sixty  Endeavor  so- 
cieties in  this  one  field,  and  all  within  two 
years.  Who  in  all  the  world  has  a  re'^ord  better 
than  that? 

Let  me  introduce  him  to  you, — this  William 
Carey,  the  second,  who  will  always  be  dear  to 
Christian  Endeavorers,  as  his  great-grandfather 
is  to  all  the  Christian  world.  He  is  not  a  tall 
man  or  a  giant  in  stature ;  but,  as  you  can  im- 


sgfsmm 


J   A.      -- 

164 


Fellow  Travellers 


agiiie,  a  man  alive  every  inch  of  hira,  from 
crown  to  toe.  With  black  hair  and  eyes  and 
black  mustache  he  snems  the  very  personifica- 
tion of  energy  and  vitality.  When  he  speaks 
in  public,  he  talks  all  over,  and  not  with  slow 
and  languid  speech.  Even  bis  coat-tails  grow 
eloquent,  as  used  to  be  said  of  John  B.  Gough. 
This  is  the  man  whom  God  has  used  so  greatly, 
and  whose  whole  soul  is  enlisted  in  the  cause 
of  Christian  Endeavor. 

"  Carey  Sahib  very  good  man ;  Mem  Sahib 
very  good  woman,"  said  the  little  Mohammedan 
skipper  of  our  steamer,  as  we  drew  near  the 
mission  bungalow,  and  we  were  prepared  to 
echo  this  description  before  we  had  been  five 
minutes  under  their  hospitable  roof.  The  next 
morning  early,  before  starting  up  the  Ganges 
on  our  long  twenty-four  hours'  journey  into  the 
swamps,  we  attended  a  united  meeting  of  the 
girls'  and  young  women's  societies  of  Barisal. 
A  more  interesting  congregation  you  could  not 
wish  to  see  ;  a  good  example  this  of  the  mater- 
ial Christian  Endeavor  has  to  work  upon  in 
Bengal,  and  of  the  work  it  is  able  to  do. 

The  members  of  the  older  society  have  four 
pices  a  month  for  spending-money.  Now  four 
pices  amount  to  the  munificent  sum  of  two 
cents,  which  must  last  them  thirty  days ;  but 
out  of  this  these  ;5enerou8  Endeavorers  support 
a  colporteur,  who  distributes  about  eight  thou- 


On  the  Bosom  of  the  Ganges     165 

Band  tracts  a  month  to  the  passengers  on  the 
many  river  stea? tiers  that  touch  at  Barisal. 
Many  of  the  girls  give  not  a  tenth,  but  all  their 
spending-money  every  month.  The  little  girls 
have  a  missionary  garden  where  they  raise  veg- 
etables; and  some  months,  by  laboring  hard, 
they  have  managed  to  make  four  annas  (eight 
cents)  as  the  contribution  of  their  society. 
These  are  not  the  widow's  mites,  but  the  maid- 
ens' mites.  Hear  the  Lord  of  the  treasury: 
"  Verily  I  say  unto  you  that  these  poor  maidens 
have  cast  more  in  than  all  they  which  have  cast 
into  the  treasury.  For  all  they  did  cast  in  of 
their  abundance,  but  they  of  their  want  did 
cast  in  all  that  they  had." 

Now  we  are  off,  as  I  told  you  at  the  begin- 
ning, for  a  twenty-four-hour  convention  away 
among  "the  Bheels."  But,  as  Rudyard  Kipling 
Bays,  "that  is  auothei:  story."         ^.  ,        , 


n 


■il 


J? 
U 


n 


I 


XXVII 


A  HISSIOKABY  MEOOA 

One  of  our  many  pilgrimages  in  India  which 
I  did  not  have  time  to  tell  you  about  in  chrono- 
logical  order  and  in  detail,  because  Christian 
Endeavor  events  pressed  upon  me  at  the  time 
BO  thick  and  fast,  was  a  visit  to  Serampore, 
twelve  miles  from  Caicutta,  the  scene  of  the 
lifo-work  of  the  pioneer  missionaries,  Carey, 
Marshman,  and  Ward. 

Many  of  you  will  remembe^  that  the  British 
East  India  Company  would  not  allow  Carey  to 
work  in  Calcutta,  or  on  any  part  of  the  soil  of 
India  controlled  by  them  ;  but  Serampore  then 
belonged  to  Denmark,  and  the  Danish  governor 
welcomed  him. 

Here  in  the  college  founded  by  Carey  is  a 
flourishing  Christian  Endeavor  society,  of 
which  I  have  before  written,  and  every  rood  of 
that  historic  ground  is  fragrant  with  memories 
of  the  great  Endeavorer. 

We  were  kindly  met  at  the  station  by  one  of 
the  younger  missionaries,  who  proved  to  be  a 
most  excellent  guide. 

First  we  were  taken  to  the  cemetery, — sacred 
soil,  indeed;  for  here,  with  many  other  mis- 


A  Missionary  Mecca 


167 


nrhioh 
irono- 
istian 
)  time 
ipore, 
>f  the 
^arey, 

British 
rey  to 
loil  of 
I  then 
ernor 

)r  is  a 
y,  of 
»od  of 
aories 

>ne  of 
be  a 

acred 
mis- 


Bionary  compatriots,  lie  William  Carey,  Marsh- 
man,  Ward,  and  a  child  of  Adoniram  Judson's. 
Carey's  tomb  is  a  somewhat  imposing  monu- 
ment of  brick  and  plaster,  still  in  very  good 
preservation.  It  was  erected  by  himself  on  the 
death  of  his  first  wife,  and  on  one  side,  after 
his  own  death,  this  inscription  was  carved  at 
his  own  request : — 

WILLIAM  CABEY, 
BOEN  17  AUGUST,  1761.     DIED  9  JUNE,  1834. 
A  WRETCHED,  POOR,  AND  HELPLESS  WORM,    , 
ON  THY  KIND  AfcMS  I  FALL. 

The  tombs  of  Marshman  and  Ward,  who,  dur- 
ing their  lifetime,  were  scarcely  less  useful  than 
Carey  himself,  are  of  very  similar  construction, 
and  occupy  even  more  conspicuous  positions  in 
the  cemetery,  Carey's  being  in  one  corner  near 
the  entrance. 

The  great  college  building,  with  its  imposing 
colonnade^  its  massive  pillars,  and  its  superb 
view  of  the  Ganges  River,  over  whose  banks  it 
stands,  is,  however,  Carey's  greatest  monument. 
Here  are  his  literary  remains,  though  his 
mortal  remains  moulder  in  the  graveyard  near 
by.  In  the  great  college  library  are  the  many 
versions  of  the  Scriptures  which  this  indefati- 
gable scholar  produced.  Shelf  after  shelf  is 
filled  with  them;  no  less  than  forty  different 


J I 


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168 


Fellow  Travellers 


languages  and  dialects  are  represented,  as  his 
great-grandson  told  me. 

Many  of  these  Carey  had  printed  at  his  own 
expense,  and  the  college  building  itself  was 
erected  largely  by  his  own  means,  for  as  pro- 
fessor of  Sanskrit  in  the  college  of  Fort  Ed- 
ward he  received  five  thousand  rupees  (more 
than  two  thousand  dollars)  a  month.  Out  of 
this  he  spent  about  one  hundred  rupees  for 
himself,  and  gave  away  the  rest.  There  was  a 
tithe-giver  for  you,  indeed  !  One-fiftieth  of  his 
income  he  spent  on  himself;  the  other  forty- 
nine  fiftieths  he  gave  to  the  Lord's  work. 

But,  after  all,  I  think  the  building  that  most 
interested  me  in  Serampore  was  not  the  impos- 
ing college  or  the  well-kept  tomb,  but  an  old, 
dilapidated  Hindu  temple  on  the  banks  of  the 

Ganges. 

■  For  a  hundred  years,  I  suppose,  this  temple 
has  not  been  used  for  heathen  worship.  At 
least,  it  was  deserted  and  ruined  in  Carey's 
time,  as  it  is  to-day.  At  one  time  during 
Carey's  residence,  Henry  Martyn,  that  other 
heaven-sent  missionary,  spent  some  months  in 
Serampore.  Desiring  a  place  for  secret  prayer 
where  he  could  be  quite  undisturbed,  he  sought 
out  this  ruined  pagoda,  and  there  would  spend 
the  early  morning  hour.  Carey,  Marshman, 
and  Ward  heard  of  this  strange  prayer-room 
of  their  friend,  and  sometimes  they  would  join 


A  Missionary  Mecca 


169 


Martyn  at  ]iis  devotions;  and,  when  Judson 
visited  Serampore,  he,  too,  naturally  joined  the 
group. 

Think  of  that  scene  in  the  old  ruined  temple, 
now  fast  falling  to  complete  decay,  a  great 
pepul  tree  forcing  its  giant  roots  and  branches 
through  the  very  walls ;  the  Ganges  River  roll- 
ing hard  by; — Martyn,  Judson,  Carey  (the 
great  trio  of  modern  missions),  Marshman, 
Ward  (making  up  a  noble  quintette),  raising 
their  united  voices  to  Almighty  God  for  a  re- 
deemed India  I  The  imagination  is  stirred  and 
the  pulses  thrilled  by  this  mental  picture,  even 
after  the  lapse  of  eighty  years. 

But  there  is  another  object  which  should  not 
be  omitted  from  a  truthful  picture  of  Seram- 
pore. In  a  public  square,  not  a  pistol-shot  from 
Carey's  grave,  stands  a  huge  car  of  Juggernaut, 
sixty  feet  high,  built  in  many  stories,  and 
covered  with  strange,  rude  paintings.  In  a 
temple  neai  by  sits  Juggernaut  himself,  with 
round,  staring  eyes  as  big  as  saucers,  a  half- 
moon  mouth  painted  red,  and  a  hideous  nose,  a 
scarlet  petticoat  of  red  calico  covering  him 
from  neck  to  feet.  Altogether,  he  is  one  of  the 
most  grotesque  and  ugly  gods  I  have  seen  in  all 
India ;  and  that  is  saying  a  great  deal. 

Once  a  year  he  is  given  a  bath  with  Ganges 
water,  but  the  operation  is  so  rare  that  he  is 
supposed  to.  catch  cold  and  fall  sick  ;  so  he  is 


i 


5 


170 


Fellow  Travellers 


taken  out  of  his  temple  for  an  airing.  A  great 
rope  is  hitched  to  his  neck,  and  a  dozen  men 
haul  him  up  to  the  top  of  his  car,  which  stands 
near  by.  Then  a  thousand  men  grasp  the 
ropeo  tied  to  the  car,  and  tug  and  strain  to  pull 
the  gigantic  carriage  of  the  god  along  the 
heivvy,  sandy  road. 

The  moral  of  these  contrasted  scenes  ?  There 
are  enough  of  them.  Here  is  one:  Carey's 
work,  so  well  begun,  is  not  yet  fully  done. 
The  master  workman  dies,  but  the  work,  still 
unfinished,  calls  for  other  skilled  and  conse- 
crated laborers.  Juggernaut  still  sits  in  his 
temple.  "  No  slacker  grows  the  fight."  Who 
will  volunteer  ? 


great 
II  men 
)tHnds 
p  the 
o  pull 
g  the 

There 
arey's 

done. 
i,  still 
conse- 
in   his 

Who 


m/tmmn 


'  nni.'!i>«iyg>|| 


XXVIII 

COKCEENING  A  UNIQUE  AND  MEMORABLE  CON- 
VENTION 

I  AM  now  on  my  way  back  from  the  most 
novel  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  Chrihtian 
Endeavor  conventions  I  ever  attended  in  my 
life. 

The  journey  to  the  convention  alone  is  worth 
chronicling  at  length.  For  three  hours  we 
journeyed  on  a  Ganges  River  steamer.  Then 
she  tied  up  to  a  bank  of  slippery,  salvy  mud, 
where  we  were  transferred  to  the  missionary 
house-boat,  and  after  a  time  were  taken  in  tow 
by  another  steamer  for  three  hours  more. 

Then  our  itinerating  novelties  began.  The 
house-boat  could  go  but  a  few  yards  up  this 
stream,  so  we  bundled  ourselves  and  our  be- 
longings into  a  **  dingey,"  a  little  boat  about 
the  size  of  a  Charles  River  canoe,  and  quite  as 
unsteady. 

The  dingey  is  decked  over,  and  is  covered 
with  a  hood  of  matting,  under  which  one  crawls 
on  his  hands  and  knees.  There  is  no  *'  stand- 
ingup  "  or  "  sitting-up  room,"  but  only  ♦'  lying- 
down  room,"  in  a  dingey.  However,  it  was 
long  after  dark  by  the  time  we  reached  this 

171 


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172 


Fellow  Travellers 


stage  of  the  journey;  so  it  was  quite  time  to  lib 
down. 

Thus  we  proceeded  for  about  three  hours 
more,  when  we  reached  an  obstruction  in  the 
stream,  which  the  dingey  could  not  go  around 
or  over  or  under. 

But  my  kind  host,  Mr.  Carey,  had  provided 
for  that;  and  on  the  bank  were  a  dozen  En- 
deavorers  with  two  "  palkees  "  or  palanquins. 
Into  the  palanquin,  which  was  only  a  pieca  of 
netting  slung  on  a  long  bamboo  pole,  I  squeezed 
myself,  while  the  Endeavorers  hoisted  me  upon 
their  shoulders. 

I  felt  like  a  triissed  turkey  with  my  knees 
doubled  up  to  my  chin.  It  was  a  well-meant 
kindness  ;  but  after  a  short  ride  of  this  sort,  to 
show  that  I  appreciated  their  trouble,  I  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  walk.  This  walk  I  greatly  en- 
joyed, though  the  road  v/as  anything  but  a 
boulevard,  and  the  dim  light  of  the  twinkling 
stars  made  the  many  bridges  of  a  single  plank 
over  the  intersecting  stream  somewhat  fear- 
some. 

Horiw.-,  the  five  miles  were  safely  trav- 
ersed, and  then  we  crawled  into  another  dingey 
for  another  three  hours'  ride.  At  last,  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  convention  village, 
Chhabikharpar,  was  reached.  This  village  is  in 
the  heart  of  the  Bheels,  and  in  the  centre  of  a 
large  Christian  Bengalee  community. 


A  Unique  Convention 


>73 


Already  the  Eiideiivorers  had  begun  to 
gather,  aud  in  the  chapel  near  by  i  could  hear 
the  sound  of  the  cymbals  and  the  tom-toms  and 
the  singing,  as  I  dropped  off  for  a  few  hours  of 
sleep  in  the  grass  hut  of  one  of  the  natives. 

Morning  came  all  too  soon  for  tired  human- 
ity, and  with  its  first  dawn  the  opening  of  the 
convention ;  for  the  people  must  get  home  the 
sume  night,  and  a  three  days*  convection  was 
to  be  crowded  into  one,  with  an  almost  con- 
tinuous session  of  twelve  hours  from  dawn  to 
dusk. 

Let  me  picture  our  surroundings.  Imagine  a 
village  of  forty  huts  of  mud  and  thatch,  each 
about  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  square  and  ten  feet 
high,  built  around  a  muddy  pond,  or  "  tank," 
as  it  is  called.  The  only  door  is  a  hole  about 
two  feet  and  a  half  square,  and  one  is  obliged 
to  double  up  like  a  jackkn:fe  to  get  in.  Until 
you  almost  stumble  agaiiibt  one  of  the  houses, 
you  would  scarcely  know  that  there  was  a  village 
near,  for  it  is  embowered  in  a  forest  of  cocoa- 
nut- trees  and  plantains  (banana-trees)  and 
date-palms.  About  half  the  people  of  Chhabi- 
kharpar  are  Christian  and  half  heathen  Hin- 
dus. 

At  one  end  of  the  village  stands  the  chapel, 
which  the  people  built  with  their  own  money, 
the  best  building  in  the  village,  with  a  good 
thatch  roof  and  walls  of  wood  reaching  nearly 


'74 


Fellow  Travellers 


to  the  roof.  The  road  to  the  chapel  is  gay  with 
plantain  stalks  and  red  Christian  Endeavor 
banners,  for  all  the  fifty-five  societies  repre- 
sented have  brought  at  least  one  banner,  and 
some  four  or  five, — not  very  expensive  flags,  to 
be  sure,  usually  only  a  yard  of  red  calico  with 
a  Scripture  verse  in  Bengalee  characters  upon 
it ;  but  they  all  add  to  the  picturesqueness  of 
the  scene. 

And  look!  look!  Of  all  the  extraordinary 
scenes  ever  witnessed  at  a  Christian  Endeavor 
convention,  that  is  the  most  extraordinary. 
With  brass  cymbals  clanging,  and  native  drums 
beating,  and  hands  c'apping,  a  society  from  a 
neighboring  village  comes  dancing  up  to  the 
chapel,  with  half  a  dozen  red  banners  stream- 
ing before  it.  The  leader,  one  of  the  territorial 
Christian  Endeavor  organizers,  goes  before  to 
lead  the  procession,  dancing  backward,  which  {"^ 
a  very  perilous  operation  on  the  narrow,  uneven 
road,  beating  time,  and  singing  a  Christian 
hymn  at  the  top  of  his  lungs. 


"  Jesus,  O  Jesus,  come  into  my  heart ; 
The  sight  of  thy  beautiful  face  drives  trouble  away. 
O  Jesus,  come  into  my  heart. 


"  Jesus,  O  Jesus,  come  into  my  heart ; 
When  thou  comest  in,  it  is  heaven  on  earth. 
O  Jesus,  come  into  my  heart. 


A  Unique  Convention 

"  Jf:sus,  O  Jesus,  come  into  my  heart ; 
Seeing  thee,  it  is  cool ;  seeing  thee,  it  is  cool. 
O  Jesus,  come  into  my  heart." 


»75 


We  should  say^  "  Jesus  warms  my  heart."  In 
this  hot  clime  he  cools  it.  But,  if  their  hearts 
were  cool,  their  faces  did  not  show  it ;  for  the 
perspiration  dripped  from  the  dancers  as  they 
reached  the  chapel. 

Within  the  chapel  the  dance  waxed  warmer 
and  more  vigorous.  Two  Endeavorers,  facing 
each  other  and  flinging  their  arms  in  the  air, 
would  spring  from  side  to  side  with  marvellous 
agility,  but  never  losing  their  self-poise  or  "  the 
power  "  in  all  the  excitement.  Now  the  tune 
changes,  and  they  sing, — 

"  The  stream  of  Jove  is  flowing  by ; 
The  stream  of  love  is  flowing  by,'' 

and  by  a  wavy  motion  of  the  line  they  indicate 
the  "stream  of  love." 
Again  a  change,  and  they  cry  out,— 

"  There  are  Am/s  of  love  at  the  foot  of  the  cross ; 
There  are  heaps  of  love  at  the  foot  of  the  cross," 

and  with  arms  outstretched  and  arched  over 
they  show  how  it  is  "  heaped  up." 

At  last  the  song  is  over,  and  the  dancers  sink 
down  upon  their  mats,  squatting  upon  their 
heels,  where  they  will  remain  immovable  for 
the  next  three  hours. 


1  ■■V''*S?Tf,*,(*<lS«)ht.A.*'!lSK,T»A^* 


176  Fellow  Travellers 

The  leader  then  goes  out,  and  dances  another 
society  into  the  chapel  in  the  same  vigorous 
way,  and  then  another,  and  another,  until  the 
chapel  Is  full. 

Does  any  one  object  to  this  vigorous  terpsi- 
chorean  type  of  religion  ?  I  can  only  say  that 
as  actually  witnessed  I  saw  nothing  objection- 
able in  it,  though  perhaps  my  clumsy  descrip- 
tion may  seem  gross  and  uncouth.  There  was 
no  "  promiscuous  mingling  of  the  sexes,"  for  all 
who  danced  were  men.  It  seemed  a  real  devo- 
tional act ;  and  I  understood,  as  never  before, 
how  David  "  danced  before  the  Lord." 

It  is  sufficient  to  say,  perhaps,  that  the  con- 
servative Baptist  mission  of  Bengal,  the  mis- 
sion founded  by  William  Carey,  sees  nothing  to 
disapprove  in  this  service. 

After  all  were  seated  and  the  little  chapel 
was  crowded  full  of  squatting  figures,  packed 
like  sardines  in  a  box,  the  banners  of  each 
society  were  presented,  with  a  short  address 
from  the  president  of  each.  Some  of  the  in- 
scriptions on  the  banners  were  very  significant, 
though  I  cannot  give  them  here  ;  but  all  told 
of  faith  and  love  and  hope.  Then  followed  ad- 
dresses on  different  features  of  the  pledge ;  for 
the  Christian  Endeavor  pledge  is  found  as  in- 
dispensable in  Bengal  as  in  America.  Songs 
were  often  interspersed,  and  there  was  a  prayer 
chain  in  true  Christian  Endeavor  fashion,  and 


nother 
gorous 
til  the 


terpsi- 
iy  that 
lection- 
lescrip- 
jre  was 
'  for  all 
1  devo- 
before, 

he  con- 
lie  mis- 
hing  to 

chapel 
packed 
3f  each 
address 
the  in- 
liiicant, 
all  told 
nred  ad- 
ge ;  for 
d  as  in- 

Song3 
,  prayer 
on,  and 


A  Unique  Convention  177 

many  little  seasons  of  quiet  devotion  were  en- 
joyed. Thus  passed  five  or  six  hours  of  almost 
continuous  service,  when  the  hungry  delegates 
took  a  recess  of  an  hour  in  order  to  get  some- 
thing to  eat.  But  they  soon  re-assembled  for 
another  session  that  lasted  till  dark. 

There  was  not  a  little  object-teaching  by  the 
missionaries. 

For  one  exercise,  Scripture  verses  bearing 
upon   "love"  were  called   for.      They  came 
thick  and   fast  from   the  audience,— "God  is 
love,"  "  God  so  loved  the  world,"  etc.    As  fast 
as  uttered  they  were  written  in  Bengalee  char- 
acters upon  slips  of  colored  paper,  red  and  blue 
and  green.    These  slips  were  then  deftly  made 
into  a  "chain  of  love,"  with  the  help  of  a  little 
paste.     Then  a  swarthy  brother,  a  deacon  in 
the  Chhabikharpar  Church,  of  deep  mahogany 
color,  who  was  arrayed  in  his  "  birthday  suit," 
and  not  a  shred  beside,  with  the  exception  of  a 
scrap  of  cloth  about  his  loins,  came  to  the 
front,  and  with  all  the  dignity  of  a  full-dress 
ceremonial  he  put  the  garland  of  love  about 
my  neck.     Had  I  been  able  to  return  the  com^ 
phment  with  a  Christian  Endeavor  pin,  I  could 
not  have  fastened  it  to  him  anywhere  without 
hurting  him. 

Hundreds  had  come  to  the  meeting  who  could 
not  get  into  the  chapel,  or  indeed  anywhere 
near  an  open  window,  so  the  closing  service 


j..Mi.f.iT  l.-ii  g  B-*Jt-.^! 


,78 


Fellow  Travellers 


was  held  in  a  wide  rice  field  near  by.  The 
closing  consecration  meeting  was  tender  and 
solemn,  and  a  time  of  great  spiritual  refresh- 
ment. 

It  was  found  that  of  the  sixty-two  societies  in 
the  district,  fifty-five  were  represented  by  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  men  and  twenty-four 
women,  besides  the  home  societies  and  the 
crowds  of  other  visitors.  Some  delegates 
walked  for  one  or  two  days  to  get  to  the  meet- 
ing. The  missionaries  present,  Mr.  Kerry,  Mr. 
Teichmann,and  Mr.  Tragellus,  were  most  help- 
ful, as  well  as  Mr.  McGaw  who  accompanied 
me;  and  Rev.  Mr.  Carey's  guiding  hand  was 
felt  throughout  the  whole  day.  Yet  it  was  a 
genuine  Endeavor  convention,  and,  better  still, 
a  Bengalee  Endeavorers'  convention,  proving 
conclusively  that  Christian  Endeavor  can  bo 
adapted  to  "  the  Bheels  "  of  Bengal  as  well  as 
to  the  rectangular  streets  of  Philadelphia.  It 
was  a  convention  never  to  be  forgotten. 


(    ! 


XXIX 

THE  SONG  OP  THE  MURDERER  OF  THIRTY 

Imagine  the  strajgest  Christian  Endeavor 
convention  you  evor  dreamed  of,  and  you  will 
not  exaggerate  in  grotesqueness  and  strange  in- 
terest the  scene  I  am  about  io  describe.  It  oc- 
curred  in  ChhabikhArpar  in  connection  with  the 
second  Christian  Endeavor  convention  of  the 
East  Bengal  Union. 

Scene :  a  rude  chapel,  with  earthen  floor  and 
thatched  roof,— the  best  buihJing,  however,  in 
all  the  village,— a  building  erected  by  the  native 
converts  themselves,  showing  that  they  believe 
in  giving  the  Lord  of  their  very  beat. 

Imagine  this  chapel  packed  with  dark  skinned 
native  Christians  sitting  immovably  upon  their 
heels  and  packed  together  almost  as  tightly  as 
peas  in  a  pod.    Some  of  the  delegates  have 
httle  brass  cymbals,  which  they  clang  together 
during  the  einging.     Three  or  four  drums  about 
the  size  and  shape  of  little  nail-kegs  contribute 
to  the  musical  (?)  effect.     The  different  ends  of 
the  drum  are  tuned  to  different  keys,  so  that  in 
a  sense  the  two  ends  accompany  each  other. 
No  drumsticks  are  used,  but  the  musicians  play 
with  their  .Angers  and  the  balls  of  their  hande. 

179 


i8o 


Fellow  Travellers 


Other  miisiciil  instruments  are  used  which  are 
quite  beyond  my  powers  of  description.  They 
are  played  with  a  single  string  and  a  toothpick, 
and  any  one  who  likes  this  kind  of  music  is 
welcome  to  the  task  of  eulogizing  it. 

If  the  instrumental  music  is  not  altogether 
melodious  to  Western  ears,  the  singing  of  the 
convention  was  exceedingly  delightful.  Few 
English  tunes  were  sung ;  nor,  indeed,  need  the 
Bengalee  CLristiant,  be  dependent  on  "  Watts 
and  Select"  or  Lox^ell  Mason  or  Moody  and 
Sankey,  for  their  flowing  musical  Bengalee 
music  is  quite  sufficient  for  all  their  needs. 

A  little  pause  came  in  the  flag-presentation 
and  prayers  and  addresses  of  the  eleven  hours' 
convention  ;  and  then  the  sweetest  sinper  in  all 
the  company  arose,  and,  joined  by  three  or  four 
others,  whose  voices  harmonized  with  his  own, 
waving  his  hards  and  keeping  time  with  his 
feet,  he  sung  "  The  Song  of  the  Murdc'rer  of 
Thirty,"  a  song  of  his  own  composing.  It 
might  better  be  called  perhaps  "  The  Name  of 
Jesus,"  for  the  name  that  is  above  every  name 
was  the  (  nstantly  recurring  theme.  This  was 
the  way  it  began : 

"  O,  the  name  of  Jesus, 
It  feels  so  good." 

This  is  a  literal  translation  of  an  otherwise  in- 
expressible Bengalee  phrase,  but  it  is  not  very 


'*«^ 


The  Song  of  the  Murderer        i8i 

far  removed  from  the  psalmist's  expression,  '*  O 
taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good."  Then  the 
song  goes  on : — 

"  Who  first  sung  the  name  ? 
The  angels  in  Bethlehem  sang  the  name  ; 
Through  this  name  heaven  and  earth  come  together. 
Through  this  name  black  and  white  meet  together. 
Through  this  name  Shadrach  passed  through  the  fire. 
Through  thia  name  Sankey  and  Moody  aroused  the  people. 
Through  this  name  George  MUller  conquered. 
Through  this  name  the  Murderer  of  Thirty  received  salva- 
tion." 

Thus  the  song  goes  on.  Each  line  is  a  distinct 
stanza,  and  requires  with  the  chorus  some  time 
to  sing. 

There  are  now  only  thirty  two  verses  in  the 
hymn  ;  but  there  is  no  reason  why  one  of  these 
days  there  should  not  be  one  hundred  and 
thirty-two,  for  accretions  can  be  readily  made, 
and  all  the  list  of  worthies  from  Adam  the  First 
can  be  celebrated. 

It  may  be  noticed  that  Sankey's  name  comes 
first  in  this  song,  and  not  the  usual  order, 
"Moody  and  Sankey."  I  suppose  the  singer 
felt  a  special  kinship  for  his  fellow  singer  across 
the  sea,  and  so  honored  him  with  the  pre-emi- 
nence. 

But  who  is  the  Murderer  of  Thirty  ? 

Ah  1  this  is  a  story  well  worth  telling  in  plain 
prose,  bjnce  I  cannot  aspire  to  poetic  flights. 


r 


182 


I'Vllow  Travilhrs 


If 


Here  is  the  plain  and  unvarnislied  story  as  told 
n>e  by  the  Bengalee  author  of  the  hymn  and 
translated  by  a  missionary.     I  wish  I  could  pic- 
ture the  scene  :  the  earnest,  dark-skinned  Chris- 
tian tellitig  the  story  with  much  gesture  and 
dramatic  effect,  while  I  jotted  down  the  transla- 
tion in  my  note  book.     On  the  Malabar  coast 
lived  a  robber,  fierce  and  implacable,  who  be- 
came in  time  a  leader  of  a  band  of  robbers. 
This  band  was  the  terror  of  the  whole  neigh- 
'  borhood,  and  in  the  course  of  their  pillaging 
expeditir)n^  their  leader,  Kothabye   by  name, 
killed   with  his  own   band  thirty  unoffending 
victims.     After  years  of  robbery  and  mu.ier 
Kothabye  was  captured  and  sold  as  a  slave. 
No  one  would  keep  him  long,  however,  on  ac- 
count of  his  ugly  and  violent  temper.     So  he 
changed  from  master  to  master,  and  on  one  oc- 
casion was  found  in  the  market  place  loaded 
with  chains  and  waiting  for  a  purchaser. 

In  this  pitiable  plight  a  missionary  saw  him, 
and  offered  to  purchase  him  if  he  could  be  had 
for  a  low  price.  At  length,  after  some  hag- 
gling, he  was  knocked  down  to  the  missionary 
for  twelve  rupees,  about  four  dollars.  The 
missionary  took  him  to  his  bungalow,  and  there 
told  him  that  he  did  not  want  him  for  a  slave, 
but  wished  him  to  become  Christ's  freeman. 
As  the  missionary  preached  of  forgiveness  by 


\\ 


The  Song  of  the  Munlerer         183 

the  blood  of  Christ,  Kothubye  interrupted  him 
by  sftying,  '•  But  will  he  forgive  a  murderer?" 

•'  Yes,"  said  the  missionary,  •♦  if  the  murderer 
is  penitent." 

"  Hut  will  he  forgive  a  man  who  has  killed 
five  men  ?  "  said  Kothabye. 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  missionary. 

"  But  will  he  forgive  one  who  has  killed  ten'" 

"  Yes." 

"But  supposing  one  has  committed  twenty 
murders,  can  he  be  forgiven?" 

*'  Yes,"  answered  the  missionary  again. 

"But  if  ho  has  killed  thirty  men?" 

"The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  will  wash  away 
all  sins,"  said  tlie  missionary. 

"  Then  he  will  save  me,"  answered  Kothabye, 
*'  for  I  am  the  Murderei*  of  Thirty." 

Then  Kothabye  began  to  pray ;  but  he  made 
so  dreadful  a  noise,  screaming  and  crying  out 
for  mercy  in  so  frightful  a  way,  that  the  mis- 
sionary could  not  stand  it.  So  Kothabye  want 
off  into  the  jungle  where  he  could  pray  as  loud 
as  he  pleased  without  disturbing  ^ny  one. 
Here  he  found  peace,  and  became  a  pr.,i  oher  of 
righteousness,  and  before  he  died  between  two 
and  three  thousand  of  the  members  of  his  tribe 
ascribed  to  him  their  conversion. 

Well  indeed  might  the  sweet  singer  chant, 
"Through  this  name  the  Murderer  of  Thirty 
received  salvation." 


r 


■■■] 


w 


! 


184 


Fellow  Travellers 


After  this  song  and  this  story  we  could  join 
even  more  heartily  in  the  sentiment  of  the  song 
that  followed, — 

"  There  are  heaps  of  love  at  the  foot  of  the  cross. 
There  are  heaps  of  love  at  the  foot  of  the  cross." 


i 


If! 


ii 


ii 


i;i 


I 
t 


.'•m^'^f-w^^m-mt.  miA'^n.^^  :  ftr.-;.  -.rt.«fcr.3.mA^JtrB^f.yf-.^yitJ.r  .t.Vp---^.-.Sjy,ai^--»^-V,|-~ij'1j  "1!^" 


XXX 


A  LONG  FORWARD  STEP 

My  last  week  in  northern  India  was  a  very 
busy  one,  and  e  very  important  one  for  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  in  India ;  for  during  that  week 
the  "  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  for 
India,  Burmah,  and  Ceylon  "  was  formed,— an 
organization  which,  I  believe,  will  have  as  far- 
reaching  and  blessed  consequences  for  India  as 
the  formation  of  the  American  United  Society 
in  1885,  or  of  the  British  Council  of  Christian 
Endeavor  in  1892,  if  I  have  tlie  year  right. 

Engagements  in  Calcutta  were  numerous 
and  delightful,  including  a  most  pleasant  re- 
ception in  the  Free  Church  Mission  hall,  where 
more  than  one  hundred  missionaries  and  other 
leading  Christian  workers  came  together;  a 
very  largely  attended  public  meeting  in  the 
great  Dharamtallah  Street  Methodist  church; 
a  Bengalee  meeting  in  the  Union  church ;  and 
two  or  three  workers'  meetings  as  well. 

At  one  of  these  workers'  meetings  "the 
United  Society  for  India,  Burmah,  and  Ceylon  " 
was  launched.  It  has  an  extensive  name,  but 
not  a  bit  too  extensive  for  the  work  it  has  to 
do,  for  in  its  field  are  more  than  three  hundred 

18S 


/p= 


186 


Fellow  Travellers 


millions  of  people.     God  gr.nt  that  it  may  be  a 
great  evangelizing  force  among  these  myriads. 

One  of  the  leaders  in  preparing  for  these 
•meetings  and  in  promoting  with  his  whole  soul 
the  cause  of  Christian  Endeavor  in  Calcutta  is 
Rev.  R.  M.  Julian,  pastor  of  the  leading  Bap- 
tist church  of  Calcutta.  This  is  the  church 
which  Carey  founded,  and  in  which  he  preached 
when  living  at  Serampore.  Mr.  Julian  was  al- 
ready president  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  En- 
deavor Union,  and,  very  naturally  and  wisely, 
was  chosen  the  fi'-st  president  of  the  United 
Society  with  the  long  name. 

He  will  put  into  the  new  office  all  the  energy 
of  an  earnest  nature  and  of  an  ardc.it  Endeav- 
orer,  who  has  tried  and  tested  the  Society  both 
in  England  and  in  Indif.. 

This  United  Society  is  well  off  in  secretaries, 
too,  for  it  has  three  of  them,  Mr.  McGaw,  the 
statistical  secretary,  of  whom  you  have  already 
heard ;  Mr.  Thompson,  of  Calcutta,  a  most 
wide-awake  Endeavorer,  the  recording  secre- 
tary, who  will  also  furnish  headquarters  for  the 
literature;  and  Mr.  Burges,  the  newly  ap- 
pointed Sunday-school  secretary  for  India,  who 
was  elected  field  secretary. 

No  better  choices  could  possibly  have  been 
made.  Mr.  Burges  is  as  enthusiastic  for 
Christian  Endeavor  as  for  Sunday-school  work, 
"because  it  has  done  so  much  for  me,"  he  says. 


'V 


MMM 


A  Long  Forward  Step  187 

He  formed  the  first  society  in  Wales ;  he  was 
the  Welsh  delegate  to  the  Boston  Convention 
—many  of  you  remembor  him  ;  and  he  will  put 
Welsh  fervor,  shrewdness,  eloquence,  and  de- 
votion into  his  work,  I  am  sure. 

The  General  Council  or  board  of  trustees, 
represents  many  denominations  and  all  parts  of 
India,  and  will  do  all  that  human  instrumen- 
tality can  do  to  advance  the  cause.  The  treas- 
urer is  the  leading  Christian  business  man  of 
Calcutta,  Mr.  Robert  Laidlaw,  of  the  most 
widely  known  business  firm  of  India ;  in  fact, 
he  is  the  John  Wanamaker  of  India. 

No  less  cordial  than  the  other  denominations, 
I  am  glad  to  tell  you,  are  the  Methodists  of 
India,  two  or  three  of  whom  are  numbered  in 
the   Council.     The  honored  Bishop  Thoburn 
made  a  most  kind  and  hearty  address  at  the 
mass-meeting  in  Calcutta,  and  Miss  Maxey  of 
the  same  mission,  who  is  one  of  the  Council,  is 
a  whole  board  of  trustees  in  herself.    Several 
native  Christians  are  on  the  General  Council, 
as  is  most  appropriate,  among  them   Mr.  Ba- 
nurji  and  Mr.   Chatterji,   of   Calcutta.      Mr. 
Banurji  is  a  very  prominent  lawyer  and  orator, 
and  is  sometimes  called  the  Chauncey  Depew 
of  India. 

Scotland,  Ireland,  Mexico,  and  all  other  am- 
bitious countries,  if  you  are  expecting  the 
badge-banner  in   1897    for    proportionate    in- 


i88 


Fellow  Travellers 


crease,  I  advise  you  to  keep  your  eye  on  the 
empire  of  India. 

But  in  all  seriousness,  I  greatly  rejoice  in  the 
work  of  the  past  week,  and  thank  God  for  it ; 
for  I  helieve  it  means  not  only  annexing  a  new 
continent  to  Christian  Endeavor,  but  opening 
up  a  new  means  of  evangelization  for  myriads 
of  people.  Who  can  tell  what  results,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  may  flow  from  those  quiet, 
Spirit-inspired  business  meetings?  Pray  for 
India,  Cli'istian  Endeavorers,  as  you  never  did 
befoie,  for  an  increasing  host  of  your  Endeavor 
brothers  and  sisters  will  live  in  that  great  tri- 
angle between  the  salt  seas. 


w,..«n^.  .»--'•>      '<  yir«Mii<i«iN  iii^liiTi  V1gftlwrt>»i  itfnrnfcri 


XXXI 


"Tl 


IN  THE  SOUTHERN   EMPIRE 

Southern  India  is  an  empire  by  itself,  largely 
cut  off,  by  language  and  difficulties  of  commu- 
nication, from  northern  India.  Christian  En- 
deavor has  a  large  domain  here  in  the  south,  a 
domain  which  Rev.  W.  I.  Chamberlain  began 
to  conquer  some  years  ago  with  the  help  of 
friends  in  the  Arcot  and  the  Madura  missions; 
a  domain  where  some  of  the  brightest  victories 
of  the  future  for  C  hrist  and  Christian  Endeavor 
of  all  kinds,  I  believe,  will  be  won. 

It  is  a  four  days'  journey  by  water  from  Cal- 
cutta to  Madras,  down  the  treacherous  Hooghly, 
one  of  the  estuaries  of  the  Ganges,  and  a  river 
on  whose  shifting  sand-bars  two  great  steamers 
have  recently  been  wrecked;  then  down  the 
Bay  of  Bengal  for  seven  hundred  miles  more. 

Bright  and  early— or,  rather,  it  was  early  and 
not  bright,  for  it  was  scarcely  dawn— the  Malta 
cast  anchor  in  Madras  harbor.  At  the  same 
moment  Dr.  Jacob  Chamberlain  appeared  on 
her  deck  to  welcome  me  and  take  me  ashore. 
(By  the  way,  let  me  ask  you  in  parenthosis 
whether  you  have  read  Dr.  Chamberlain's  new 
book  of  fascinating  missionary  stories,  «•  In  the 

18'* 


IQO 


Fellow  Travellers 


Tiger  Jungle  "  ?  If  you  have  not,  you  have  a 
treat  before  you.) 

Soon  we  got  into  a  big,  flexible  burf-boat, 
whose  planks  were  tied  together  with  rope  and 
calked  with  hemp,  since  no  ordinary  bout  can 
stand  the  fierce  surf  of  Madras  harbor.  When 
we  came  near  shore,  the  naked  boatmen  jumped 
over  into  the  water,  and  formed  a  chair  of  their 
hands.  In  the  old-fashioned  way  of  my  child- 
hood, while  we  firmly  grasped  with  each  hand  a 
sweaty,  greasy  black  shoulder,  we  were  borne 
to  the  strand. 

Mr.  David  McConanghy's  pleasant  house  was 
mine  for  the  day — tho  same  David  McConaughy 
who  is  famous  in  Y.  M.  C.  A.  circles  all  over 
the  world,  and  is  doing  a  noble  work  for  the 
young  men  of  India.  You  will  be  glad  to 
know  that  the  corner-stone  for  the  new  Y.  M.  C. 
A.  building,  to  which  Hon.  John  Wanamaker 
has  given  $30,000,  has  just  been  laid. 

Two  services,  one  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  hall 
and  the  other  in  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland, 
occupied  the  afternoon ;  and  the  next  day,  very 
early,  I  started  for  Tindivanum,  where  under 
the  fostering  care  of  Mr.  an''  Mrs.  Wyckoff 
Christian  Endeavor  has  for  some  years  had  a 
home.  Warm  indeed  was  the  greeting,  with 
banners  and  music  and  a  slow  procession  to  the 
missionary  bungalow.  Over  the  gateway  to  the 
grounds  was  built  a  kind  of  welcome  lodge ;  but 


vrffi^r^i-'ftiaaiiiMhi'il    11^ 


u  have  a 

,urf-boat, 
rope  un«i 
boat  can 
,  When 
1  jumped 
r  of  their 
tiy  child- 
^h  hand  a 
ire  borne 

louse  was 

/onaughy 
all  over 

•k  lor  the 
glad  to 
Y.  M.  C. 

mamaker 

A.  hall 
Scotland, 
day,  very 
ire  under 
Wyckoff 
irs  had  a 
ing,  with 
on  to  the 
ay  to  the 
dge;  but 


y. 
y. 


^lA 


h.ifiiJix.  jiaTB'  liT  i^jag  ^ 


»j*«iiiMirtTnifcOiinii  ,tm»^mmm 


In  the  Southern  Empire  191 

the  banner  which  attracted  most  attention  was 
a  huge  one  stretching  across  the  road  and  borne 
by  four  bearers,  with  the  legend  in  great  let- 
ters,— 


WELCOME  TO  REV.  FATHF     ENDEAVOR 
F.  E.  CLARK,  I),  b. 


O  Mr.  Mills,  Mr.  Mills!  does  not  your  heart 
Bometin.es  reproach  you,  even  within  the  legis- 
lative  halls  of  the  Great  and  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts,  for  firing  that  atrocious  joke 
heard  round  the  world  ? 

We  had  two  delightful  meetings  in  Tindiva- 
num,  and  enjoyed  the  renewal  of  old  friend- 
ships in  the  mission  bungalow ;  and  then  pushed 
on  the  same  night  to  Madura,  the  great  mission 
station  of  the  American  Board  in  southern 
India. 

This  is  one  of  the  chief  centres  of  Christian 
Endeavor  in  India,  and  more  than  a  score  of 
good  societies  are  connected  with  this  mission 
The  great  West  Gate  church  was  filled  on  two 
occasions  with  dusky,  earnest  faces ;  and  the 
next  day  I  had  the  pleasure  of  speaking  to  the 
students  of  the  fainous  college,  theological  semi- 
nary,  and  high  school  at  Pasumalai,  three  miles 
distant. 

Here  Dr.  Jones,  an  old  friend  of  my  school- 
days,  presides.     He,  by  the  way,  is  the  first 


'•'  '!i^vm.mm  »■"■■■  igaiMWitj 


iB^ 


'( 


f ' 


ii 


I 


,Q2  Fellow  Travellers 

president  of  the  new  South  India  Christian  En- 
deavor Union.  In  many  directioub  he  is  doing 
R  great  work  for  the  evangelization  of  India. 

I  wish  I  could  introduce  you  personally  to 
all  the  devoted  missionaries  of  this  mission,  Mr. 
\  aughan  and  Mr.  Holton  and  Dr.  Van  Allen 
and  the  "godly  women  not  a  few,"  as  well  as 
the  native  workers,  who  have  done  so  much  to 
establish  Christian  Endeavor  under  the  shadow 
of  the  greatest,  and  in  some  respects  the  most 
magnificent,  Hindu  temple  in  the  world. 

The  same  day  found  me  on  the  way  to  Bat- 
talagundu  in  a  bullock  bandy  with  Mr.  Herrick, 
another  of  this  mission  band.     A  most  enjoy- 
able journey  it  was.     At  night  we  Stopped  m  a 
deserted  wayside  bungalow  to  hold  a  Christian 
Endeavor  niceting  in  a  village  a  mile  away. 
Close  by  was  a  grove  of  huge  banyan-trees,  and 
in  the  trees  a  whole  colony  of  monkeys,  big  and 
little,  old  and  young,  sedate  and  frisky.     They 
looked  almost  wise  enough  to  form  themselves 
into  a  society ;  only  some  of  the  younger  mem- 
bers would  have  been  too  active,  a  fault  not 
usually  attributable  to  Christian  Endeavorers. 
The  way  they  jumped  from  tree  to  tree,  and 
hung  by  th'Jr  tails,  and  chased  each  other  from 
bra:i?h  to  branch,  was   better  than   a   whole 
zoological  garden  at  home. 

However,  though  no  organization  was  effected 
in  the  banyan-tree,  Mr.  Samuel  Joseph,  my  ex- 


H 


stian  En- 
I  is  doing 
India, 
onally  to 
jsion,  Mr. 
'an  Allen 
18  well  as 
»  much  to 
le  shadow 
the  most 
Id. 

ly  to  Bat- 
•.  Herrick, 
ost  enjoy - 
jpped  in  a 
Christian 
lile  away, 
-trees,  and 
)'s,  big  and 
ky.    They 
ihemselves 
nger  mem- 
fault  not 
ideavorers. 
a  tree,  and 
other  from 
1  a  whole 


In  the  Southern  Empire  mi 

cellent  interpreter,  formed  a  society  in  this  vil- 
lage of  which  I  speak,  and  the  next  day  at  Bat- 
talagundu  formed  five  others  through  the  teach- 
erg  and  catechists  there  aseembled. 


vas  effected 
sph,  my  ex- 


__>" 


XXXII 

BWAMl   VIVEKANANDA   UPON   HIS  NATIVE 
HEATH 

ONii  uf  the  Brahmans  who  made  the  greatest 
Bensation  while  in  America  at  the  Parliament 
of  Religions  was  the  gorgeous  and  plausible 
Vivekananda.  While  I  was  in  Madras  he  made 
his  triumphal  entrance  to  India.  He  deserves 
a  chapter  in  this  book. 

A  Hindu  prophet  is  not  always  without  honor 
in  his  own  country.     Swami  Vivekananda  has 
come  back  to  India,  has  seen  and  conquered. 
Everywhere  in  southern  India  he  has  been  re- 
ceived  with    more   than   royal   acclaim.     Tri- 
umphal arches  have  been  erected;  garlands  in- 
numerable have  been  hung  upon  his  willing 
neck ;  his  carriage  has  been  unyoked  from  its 
horses  and  drawn  by  enthusiastic  scholars  and 
high  dignitaries  of  the  land,  for  is  not  he  the 
great  Brahman  who  has  won  the  Western  lands 
for  Hinduism?    Is  not  he  the  profound  scholar, 
the  eloquent  orator,  the  astute  diplomat,  the 
master  of  assemblies,  who,  by  waving  his  magic 
wand  for  a  few  months  in  Chicago,  New  York 
and  London,  has  turned  back  the  engulfing 
waters  of  Christianity,  which  threatened,  only 

194 


Swami  Vivckanantla 


»9? 


NATIVE 


le  greatest 
'arl  lament 
plausible 
18  he  made 
e  deserves 

hout  honor 
iiianda  has 
conquered, 
las  been  re- 
iaim.     Tri- 
rarlands  in- 
his  willing 
ed  from  its 
cholars  and 
not  he  the 
istern  lands 
ind  scholar, 
plomat,  tlie 
ig  his  magic 
,  New  York 
e  engulfing 
itened,  only 


a  few  sliort  j'ears  ago,  to  submerge  the  world  — 
India  included? 

These  are  the  ideas  at  least  which  the  aver- 
ago  Hindu  seems  to  have  imbibed,  and  we  may 
be  very  sure  that  Vivekananda  himself  has  done 
nothing  to  disabuse  his  countrymen  of  these 
notions.  No  wonder  they  call  him  "Swami" 
in  their  words,  "  God  "  Vivekananda. 

But,  though  so  exalted,  this  god  is  quite  wil- 
ling to  be  interviewed.  He  doubtless  learned 
the  trick  when  in  America.  Here  are  some 
choice  extracts  as  they  recently  appeared  in  the 
Madras  Mail. 

"  What  was  your  experience  of  America, 
Swami?"  asked  the  enterpriHing  reporter. 

"From  first  to  last  very  good,"  answered 
Vivekananda.  "  With  the  exception  of  the 
missionaries  and  'church  women,'  the  Ameri- 
cans are  most  hospitable,  kind-hearted,  gener- 
ous, and  good  natured." 

Naturally  the  reporter  desired  to  know  some- 
thing of  these  "  exceptions "  who  so  fall  be- 
low the  average  American,  and  so  he  asked, 
"  Who  are  these  church  women  that  you  speak 
of,  Swami?" 

Swami :  "  When  a  woman  tries  her  best  to 
find  a  husband  she  goes  to  all  the  bathing- 
places  imaginable,  and  tries  all  sorts  of  tricks 
to  catch  a  man.  When  she  fails  in  her  at- 
tempts, she  becomes  what  they  call  in  America 


Tf^irirmrrr-Tuniir  ' 


»,*■•=«»»  •-« 


196 


Fellow  Travellers 


an  '  old  maid,'  aud  joins  the  church.  Some  of 
them  become  very  'churchy.'  These  church 
women  are  awful  fanatics.  They  are  under 
the  thumb  of  the  priests  there.  Between  them 
and  the  priests  they  make  a  hell  on  earth. 
They  make  a  mess  of  religion.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  these  the  Americans  are  a  very  good 
people.  They  loved  me  so  much.  I  loved  them. 
I  felt  as  though  I  was  one  of  them." 

After  sounding  the  Swami  on  the  interesting 
subject  of  "  church  women  "  the  reporter  asked 
him  his  idea  concerning  the  Parliament  of  Re- 
ligions.    Here  is  Vivekananda's  opinion. 

"  The  Parliament  of  Religions,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  was  intended  for  a  '  heathen  show '  before 
the  world,  but  it  turned  out  the  heathen  got 
the  upper  hand  and  made  it  a  Christian  show 
all  around.  So  the  Parliament  of  Religions 
was  a  failure  from  a  Christian  standpoint.  But 
the  Chicago  parliament  was  a  tremendous  suc- 
cess for  India  and  Indit  1  thought.  It  helped 
on  the  tir.e  of  Vedanta  which  is  flooding  the 
world." 

Having  exhausted  these  American  church 
women  and  the  Parliament  of  Religions,  the 
Swami  adopts  the  role  of  prophet  when  asked, 
'*What  are  the  prospects  of  the  spread  of  your 
mission  in  England?" 

"  There  is  every  prospect,"  he  replied,  with 
jaunty  confidence.     "  Before  ten  years  elapse  a 


I 


a.._i, 


■!Jt''f¥a>nt,mmM^^.* 


Swaini  Vivekananda 


197 


Some  of 
le  church 
vre  under 
^een  them 
on  earth, 
h  the  ex- 
very  good 
ved  them. 

iteredting 
ter  asked 
nt  of  Re- 
on. 

seems  to 
w  '  before 
itlien  got 
tian  show 
Religions 
lint.  But 
dous  suc- 
It  helped 
)ding  the 

1  church 
[ions,  the 
en  asked, 
1  of  your 

lied,  with 
)  elapse  a 


vast  majority  of  the  English  people  will  be  Ve- 
dantins.  There  is  a  greater  prospect  of  this  in 
England  than  in  America.  You  see  Americans 
make  a  fanfaronade  of  everything,  which  is  not 
the  case  with  Englishmen," 

Thus  having  predicted  the  complete  triumph 
of  Brahmanism  in  England,  and  that  within  the 
short  space  of  one  decade,  he  goes  on  to  give 
an  interesting  view  of  the  English  character, 
which,  on  the  whole,  he  esteems  highly,  as  in- 
deed is  most  fitting  in  a  loyal  subject  of  Queen 
Victoria.  But  this  further  estimate  he  confides 
to  the  willing  ear  of  the  reporter :  "  John  Bull 
is  rather  a  thick-headed  gentleman  to  deal  with. 
You  must  turn  the  screw  and  push  the  idea 
until  it  reaches  his  brain,  but  once  there  it  does 
not  get  out.  .  .  .  To  my  astonishment  many 
of  my  friends  belong  to  the  Church  of  England. 
I  learn  that  these  missionaries  who  how!  (against 
me)  come  from  the  lowest  classes  in  England. 
No  Englishman  will  mix  with  them.  Caste  is 
as  vigorous  there  as  it  is  here,  and  the  English 
churchman  belongs  to  the  class  of  gentlemen. 
Therefore  I  would  give  a  word  of  advice  to  my 
countrymen;  that  is,  not  to  take  the  least  notice 
of  all  these  vituperative  missionaries,  now  that 
I  have  found  out  what  they  are.  We  have 
'  sized  '  them,  as  the  Americans  say.  Non-rec- 
ognition is  the  only  attitude  to  assume  toward 
them." 


•— ■-  ••"■-.-->-.■■ 


I 


«*■  J" 


i 


i  I 


'  4 

! 

It 


198 


Fellow  Travellers 


I  might  go  on  through  many  columns,  quot- 
ing other  choice  bits  from  this  sage  of  modern 
Brahmanism,  but  perhaps  these  are  enough  to 
show  his  braggadocio  and  deceit  and  his  ani- 
mus against  missionaries  and  earnest  Christians. 
This  interview  is  surely  sufficient  to  open  the 
eyes  of  certain  gullible  Americans  who  petted 
and  coddled  him,  and  gave  him  the  impression 
that  they  were  so  much  superior  to  the  despised 
missionaries  and  "  church  women  "  who  "  make 
a  hell  on  earth." 

That  Vivekananda's  return  has  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  certain  portions  of  the  Hindu 
community  is  certain.  But  I  cannot  find  that 
the  Christian  community  has  been  greatly  af- 
fected by  his  bombastic  claims.  The  arrival  of 
Dr.  John  Henry  Barrows  in  Madras  at  about 
the  same  time  is  a  powerful  antidote  to  Vive- 
kananda's poison.  Dr.  Barrows  is  so  uncom- 
promising and  outspoken  in  his  defence  of  evan- 
gelical Christianity  that  he  has  won  the  hearts 
of  all  the  missionaries  and  Christian  workers. 
He  has  deeply  impressed  many  Hindus  as  well, 
and  when  he  leaves  India  he  will  doubtless  be 
classed  by  Swam i  as  a  "low-caste  American," 
perhaps  not  much  better  than  the  "  church 
women"  themselves. 


'*.1tiu*«t.A:*'A 


f'.>V»ii;'At(^i"V*^'"-*"T*ir"' -i-'Y^-'  ^  •  'in  fnn  Tfcftih-Tr^  •  mri  hn 


XXXIII 

OUE  SIXTY  DAYS  IN  INDIA 

Our  sixty  days  in  India  are  nearly  at  an  end, 
and  this  last  week  has  been  quite  as  interesting 
as  any  that  has  preceded.  In  the  first  place,  on 
Monday,  February  15, 1897,  the  representatives 
of  South  India  ratified  the  United  Society  for 
India,  Burmah,  and  Ceylon,  so  happily  started 
at  Calcutta  a  fortnight  before,  chose  representa- 
tives for  the  council,  and  also  formed  a  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  Union  for  South  India,  with  Dr. 
Jones,  of  Madura,  for  president,  and  Rev.  W. 
I.  Chamberlain,  of  Vellore,  for  secretary. 

Of  Dr.  Jones  and  his  work  I  have  already 
spoken,  and  Mr.  Chamberlain  is  the  same  inde- 
fatigable worker  who  for  years  has  led  the  En- 
deavor forces  of  the  empire. 

Then,  when  this  new  union  was  well 
launched,  began  a  pleasant  week  of  touring 
with  Rev.  R.  Burges,  our  new  field  secretary, 
as  I  trust  the  Sunday-school  Union,  whose 
general  secretary  for  India  he  is,  will  allow  me 
to  call  him. 

First  we  visited  Coirabatoor,  near  the  west 
coast,  where  the  London  Mission  has  a  strong 
station.     Here  live  Mr.  Small  and  Rev.  A.  W. 

199 


^4if^«-mm»^^'At*$^ilMi>Vfbmi,^f„i 


■y  t»JL:'in^rv''--*-ii-iV:i 


—■St/'W^V-'   -^1  ';t-T:ii    W*i,fe»*^^ 


■■I 


200 


Fellow  Travellers 


V  ■■ 


t 


Brough,  whom  T  last  met  when  he  was  a  pas- 
tor ill  Maitland,  Australia.  In  his  beautifully 
decorated  church  there  he  greeted  me  in  1892, 
and  now  in  another  beautifully  docoruted 
church,  seven  thousand  miles  away,  he  has 
greeted  me  again.  Here  is  a  good  Christian 
Endeavor  society,  and  another  in  a  Eurasian 
school  supported  by  the  generosity  of  Robert 
Stanes,  Esq. 

The  same  night  we  were  again  on  the  way, 
and  the  next  afternoon  found  us  at  lovely  Vel- 
iore.  Rev.  W.  I.  Chamberlain's  home.     Here  a 
pleasant  meeting  was  held,  and  another  at  Chit- 
toor  the   next  day.    Chittoor  is  the  mission 
station  which  is  supported  altogether  by  the 
Reformed  (Dutch)  Church  Endeavorers  of  the 
United  States.     Most  appropriate  was  it,  then, 
that  we  should  halt  here  for  a  half-day ;  and  I 
am  glad  to  congratulate  the  Endeavorers  of 
this   denomination    on    everything  connected 
with   their    own    station.      In    Mr.    and    Mrs. 
Beattie,  the  missionaries  in  charge,  they  have 
two  devoted  and  efficient  workers  to  sustain ; 
the  church  is  a  noble  one,  one  of  the  finest  mis- 
sion church  buildings  in  India,  and  the  girls' 
school  is  large  and  prosperous. 

Rev.  W.  I.  Chamberlain  and  his  charming 
wife  were  formerly  the  missionaries  at  this 
station,  but  they  have  been  transferred  to  Vel- 
lore.    We  all  had  our  pictures  taken  by  Mr. 


.>^pijtt«ia!as»«!®#«5?W 


Eis  a  paa- 
lutifully 
in  1892, 
cuoFuted 
he  has 
Christian 
Eurasian 
f  Robert 

the  way, 
vely  Vel- 
Here  a 
r  at  Chit- 
!  mission 
r  by  the 
jrs  of  the 
3  it,  then, 
ly ;  and  I 
vorers  of 
;onnected 
md    Mrs. 
,hey  have 
0  sustain ; 
Bnest  rais- 
the  girls' 

charming 
!3  at  this 
ed  to  Vel- 
n  by  Mr. 


Our  Sixty  Days  in  India         20 1 

Burgas  on  the  church  tower,— three  men  on  a 
tower,— with  a  great  crowd  of  admiring  Hindus 
looking  on  at  the  mysterious  art  of  photography. 

The  next  day  was  one  of  the  most  novel  of 
the  pilgrimage,  for  it  was  marked  by  the  con- 
vention held  with  the  village  society  of  Yeha- 
mur,  of  the  Arcot  Mission. 

A  ride  of  twenty-one  miles  in  an  American 
l>uggy  brought  us  near  the  village,  and  to  a  recep- 
tion that  was  a  reception.  Half-a-dozen  huge  ban- 
ners of  welcome,  a  drum  corps  of  a  dozen  drums 
of  all  possible  and  impossible  shapes,  a  whole 
brass  foundry  of  clashing  cymbals,  firecrackers, 
and  other  joyous  expressions,  greeted  us.  In 
triumph  Mr.  Burges  and  the  missionaries,  Mr. 
Beattie,  Dr.  Scudder, — in  whose  field  is  Yeha- 
mur,— and  myself,  were  escorted  across  a  wide 
field,  through  a  heathen  village.  Here  the 
drummers  built  grass  fires,  and  heated  their 
drums  so  that  they  gave  forth  a  terrific  din, 
enough  to  arouse  the  most  hardened  heathen. 

At  last  the  Christian  part  of  the  village  was 
reached,  and  at  the  door  of  the  roomy  church 
the  "tamasha"  was  resumed  with  redoubled 
vigor,  until  the  not  wholly  imaginary  headache 
of  one  of  the  party  was  pleaded  as  an  excuse 
for  silencing  the  hospitable  noise. 

Two  afternoon  meetings  were  held,  but  tlie 
great  event  was  the  evening  service.  Before 
the  addresses  we  were  all  garlanded  most  pro- 


i,0^»im»i^ 


r"*"" 

'  I  *■ 


■ 


r 


f  '■ 


! 
i 


C^JLl 


202 


Fellow  Travellers 


fusely.  Before  the  evening  was  over,  I  counted 
four  heavy  garlands  of  yellow  flowers  around 
my  neck,  one  composed  of  six  strings  of  flowers. 
A  gorgeous  bird  of  paradise,  made  of  tinsel 
paper  and  perched  on  a  flower  decorated  stick, 
was  thrust  into  my  hand,  and  six  limes  were 
given  me  to  hold.  Pomegranates  were  given 
us,  and  Mr.  Burges's  weakness  for  bananas  was 
recognized  by  a  large  bunch.  An  address  of 
welcome  in  a  beautiful  sandalwood  box  and  a 
lyric  sung  to  a  spirited  native  tune  formed  part 
of  the  exercises. 

Modesty  forbids  me  to  quote  the  poem  in 
full,  but  one  verse  ran  in  polite  Oriental  phrase 
as  follows : — 

"  O  Arcot  Endeavorers,  clap  your  hands  enthusiastically, 
Garland  our  Dr.  Clark  with  flowers. 
Sprinkle  him  with  plenty  of  rose-water." 

Suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  a  swarthy 
Tamil  brother  deluged  me  with  fragrant  rose- 
water,  and  then  proceeded  to  sprinkle  liberally 
my  friendij  on  the  platform,  while  the  song  went 
on  uninterruptedly  through  fifteen  or  twenty 
verses. 

But  the  bes«  of  "  tp.mashas  "  must  come  to  an 
end,  as  this  one  did.  A  long  moonlight  ride 
brought  us  to  Dr.  Scudder's  hospitable  bunga- 
low, where  we  enjoyed  two  hours  of  sleep 
before  taking  the  train  for  Madras  at  three  in 
the  morning. 


'•|*^,.'^*S(*SS-„  ,;^-- 


-•MI§lg:4«a!i^a«*«S^f**- 


^^ 


Our  Sixty  Days  in  India         203 


The  Madras  Christian  Endeavor  meeting, 
held  later  in  the  day,  was  an  encouraging  and 
hopeful  cue,  though  the  movement  has  as  yet 
taken  slight  hold  in  that  great  city.  The  strong 
and  brotherly  address  of  Dr.  Rudishill,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  would  have  done 
your  hearts  good  in  its  outspoken,  enthusiastic 
stand  for  our  Christian  Endeavor  interdenomi- 
national fellowship. 

This  meeting  was  scarcely  over  before  we 
were  again  upon  the  train,  for  an  all  night's 
ride  to  Madanapalle,  where  was  established,  you 
remember,  the  pioneer  Christian  Endeavor  so- 
ciety in  South  India, — a  society  which  for  seven 
years  has  done  splendid  work. 

Here  live  my  dear  friends.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Jacob 
Chamberlain,  and  Rev.  L.  B.  Chamberlain.  Of 
the  pleasures  of  these  last  two  days  before  sail- 
ing for  Africa  I  cannot  begin  to  tell  you,  but  I 
shall  never  forget  them.  I  can  onlj'  say  that 
the  first  meeting  was  held  near  the  station  of 
Chinna  Tippusamudram,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  vigorous  senior  society  of  Madanapalle. 
Here  was  organized  a  society  which  rejoices  in 
having  a  record-breaking  name  for  length. 
Other  meetings  in  Madanapalle  revealed  the 
grasp  of  Christian  Endeavor  in  this,  one  of  its 
earliest  strongholds  of  India. 

Now  my  sixty  days  in  India  are  numbered. 
I  sail  this  afternoon  for  Natal,  South  Africa,  a 


,.<r<i:«i  -ySim^ SliiTtt  .*»*^Vti*^«STErj'--"'^4t**JJir5i»r  ^V*> 


Vu'Mi  ■■  ■^■■W*»-|    .n-  I-  HL«!r-i     m  . 


204 


Fellow  Travellers 


fwenty-three  days'  voyage  in  a  small  coolie 
emigrant  steamer.  I  thank  God  for  these  sixty 
days.  I  am  leaving  this  great  continent,  en- 
couraged beyond  measure  concerning  the  future 
of  Christian  Endeavor  in  India  and  the  So- 
ciety's adaptability  to  this  country.  These 
days  have  been  among  the  most  busy  and  most 
memorable  of  my  life.  If  I  have  given  any  of 
ray  readers  the  impression  that  this  has  been 
one  long  picnic,  let  me  remind  them  that  into 
these  sixty  days  have  been  crowded  eighty-one 
addresses  to  people  who  speak  seven  different 
languages,  and  more  than  six  thousand  miles  of 
travel,  and  that  nearly  one-half  of  the  nights 
have  been  spent  on  the  rail.  A  picnic !  "  That 
is  no  name  for  it."  A  sixty  days'  picnic  is  not 
to  be  compared  with  a  sixty  days'  tour  among 
the  Christian  Endeavorers  of  India. 


\ 


XXXIV 

A  SKY  PILOT  ON  A  COOLIE  SHIP 

For  the  sake  of  the  landsmen  among  my 
readers,— and  I  suppose  they  are  in  a  decided 
majority, — let  me  first  introduce  them  both  to 
the  sky  pilot  and  to  the  coolie  ship. 

The  "sky  pilot"  is  a  certain  individual  of 
whom  they  have  heard  before,  who  is  taking  a 
long  journey  for  the  advancement  of  Christian 
Endeavor  interests,  from  India's  coral  strand  to 
Afric's  sunny  fountains.  By  sailors  in  general 
he  and  all  bis  brothers  of  the  ministerial  calling 
are  designated  as  "  sky  pilots,"  in  good-natured 
contempt,  I  suppose,  for  their  presumed  igno- 
rance of  sublunary  things  in  general,  and  of 
nautical  matters  in  particular.  But  this  sky 
pilot,  at  least,  is  very  willing  to  accept  the  title, 
and  only  hopes  that  he  may  be  able  to  live  up 
to  it,  and  pilot  some  human  craft  to  the  skies. 

The  coolie  ship  is  the  nearest  approach  to  the 
old-fashioned  "  slaver  "  that  sails  the  seas  to-day. 
This  particular  ship,  the  good  Congella,  carries 
indentured  coolies,  the  lowest  class  of  Hindu 
laborers,  from  Madras  to  Natal.  Though  more 
like  the  old-fashioned  slave-ship  than  any  other 

206 


H  «fe.C«  itftM.  1 


s.  "^Hiattit^^    'iiv.,^^.^ 


^r 


206 


Fellow  Travellers 


r 


afloat,  it  is,  thank  fortune,  far  removed  from 
that  abomination  of  desolation  ;  for  the  Natal 
government  exercises  a  paternal  solicitude  for 
its  emigrants,  and,  though  they  are  going  to  a 
new  continent  to  work  hard   on   plantations, 
they  are  going  of  their  own  free  will,  and  in 
the  hope  of  bettering  their  poor  fortunes.    The 
government  itself  imports  them,  as  they  are 
better  laborers  than  the  native  Zulus,  guaran- 
tees them  their  wages,  and  agrees  to  take  them 
back  to  India  at  the  end  of  five  years  if  they 
wish  to  go.     Moreover,  this  paternal  govern- 
ment is  so  very  paternal  that  it  vaccinates  ita 
future  citizens,  and  segregates  them  for  a  week 
before  sailing,  to  make  sure   that  they  start 
with  no  contagious  disease ;  then  burns  all  their 
clothing,  to  make  certain  that  there  go  aboard 
as  few  as  possible  unseen  passengers,  minute 
stowaways  tliat  do  not  appear  in   the  ship's 

manifest.  , 

Then  it  gives  to  each  future  citizen,  men  anc 
women  alike,  impartially,  a  strip  of  white  cot- 
ton cloth,  while  all  that  the  children  need  is  a 
tow  string  to  fasten  on  the  pieces  of  tin  bear- 
ing their  numbers,  a  smile,  and,  if  they  can  af- 
ford it,  a  necklace  of  beads.  Then  it  puts 
them  aboard  the  steamer,  with  sufficient  rice 
and  pumpkins  and  other  "  curry  stuff  "  to  last 
for  three  weeks  and  two  days,  with  a  supply  of 
tobacco  also ;  for  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  aU  the 


*ii.^ 


:^s?4MSte ;  J-?#'!tMSBI" 


red  from 
ha  Natal 
itude  for 
oing  to  a 
mtatious, 
1,  and  in 
les.    The 
they  are 
I,  guaran- 
ake  them 
rs  if  they 
1  govern- 
nnates  its 
or  a  week 
iiey  start 
IS  all  their 
go  aboard 
s,  minute 
the   ship's 

t,  men  anc 
white  cot- 
1  need  is  a 
f  tin  bear- 
iey  can  af- 
in  it  puts 
icient  rice 
iff  "  to  last 
\  supply  of 
that  all  the 


A  Sky  Pilot  on  a  Coolie  Ship    207 

future  citizens,  even  down  to  the  four-year-old 
toddler,  are  addicted  to  the  weed. 

Moreover,  the  paternal  government  of  Natal 
is  so  paternal  that  it  dooujs  us  all,  coolies  and 
sky  pilot  alike,  to  twenty-three  days  at  sea, 
though  the  voyage  could  easily  be  made  in 
eighteen,  lest  we  carry  some  dire  disease  to  the 
Natalese.  The  reasoning  seems  to  be:  In 
twenty-three  days  the  disease,  whatever  it  is, 
will  have  time  to  run  its  course,  and  the  pas- 
sengers will  either  be  all  well  or  all  dead,  and 
in  neither  case  c&n  they  contaminate  us. 

To  be  sure,  it  is  not  exactly  a  pleasant 
thought  that  one  is  doomed  to  imprisonment 
for  twenty-three  days  on  a  possible  pest-ship 
without  any  possibility  of  a  reprieve  ;  but  then 
the  sky  pilot  ought  not  to  comi)laln,  for  it  is  by 
special  favor,  as  it  were,  that  he  is  allowed  to 
make  one  of  this  happy  family.  He  is  the  only 
white  passenger,  and,  though  he  pays  more 
than  one  hundred  dollars  for  his  accommoda- 
tions and  disacccmmodations,  he  came  near  be- 
ing refused  altogether  by  the  paternal  govern- 
ment. For  has  he  not  been  wanderuig  all  over 
India?  Has  he  been  segregated  for  a  week? 
Will  he  allow  his  clothing  to  be  burned  ?  "No, 
indeed,"  he  says;  "they  are  poor  things,  sir, 
but  mine  own."  So  the  "protector"  of  the  pa- 
ternal government  deliberates  over  his  case, 
shakes  his  head  wisely,  but  at  length  allows 


|jgiBjj.-|jiwi-  I     1^ 


208 


Fellow  Travellers 


l.l 


him  to  go  aboard  with  hia  ticket  iiidorHe<1,  "  It 
is  my  opinion  that  Rev. can  embaik  with- 
out danger  to  the  coolies." 

Somehow  the  sky  pilot  had  never  thought  of 
it  in  that  light  before,  and  had,  in  his  i\nglo- 
Saxon  pride  of  cleanliness,  supposed  that  he 
was  the  one  in  danger  of  contaminaiion ;  but 
pride  must  ever  have  its  fall  and  self-conceit  its 
Waterloo. 

But  now  we  have  been  at  sea  seventeen  days, 
and  the  sky  pilot  has  had  a  chance  to  learn 
something  about  his  fellow  passengers.  I'crhaps 
you  would  like  to  share  his  observations.  We 
are,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  in  a  little  world 
by  ourselves.  There  is  no  possible  communi- 
cation, except  with  the  fishes  below  and  the 
blessed  angels  above.  For  twenty  three  days 
we  are  cut  ofiF  from  all  commerce  with  our 
kind.  No  telegrams,  no  penny-post,  no  express 
package,  can  reach  our  floating  island.  Europe 
may  be  submerged  by  a  tidal  wave ;  Lord  Salis- 
bury may  have  been  induced  to  say  something 
decisive  on  the  Eastern  question,  though  I  very 
much  doubt  it ;  America  may  have  been  frozen 
stiff  in  a  March  blizzard,  who  knows?  We 
certainly  do  not,  for  was  not  a  new  president 
to  have  been  inaugurated  on  the  fourth  of 
March,  now  eleven  days  ago?  and  no  news 
thereof  has  reached  our  distant  planet. 

But  now  for  the  population  of  this  little 


#r—.-v''^^l^3  -S5>^5 


TTifTCtor?  iTS--*-tf  Hfcffi  V  ti  Tlffirf  f  y  TlMl 


news 


A  Sky  Pilot  on  a  Coolie  Ship    209 

iron  asteroid, — our  esteemed  fellow-passengers. 
There  are  four  hundred  of  tliem,  and  they  lie 
strewn  thickly  over  the  decks  by  day  and  the 
hold  by  night,  so  thickly  that  the  sky  pilot  has 
to  pick  his  way  gingerly  whenever  he  takes  his 
walks  abroad,  lest  he  step  on  an  outstretched 
finger  or  toe,  or  a  coolie  baby.  This  somewhat 
limits  his  exercise,  for  he  has  no  desire,  like 
the  conquerors  of  old,  to  tread  on  human 
necks. 

The  following  characteristics  he  has  noticed 
in  his  fellow-passengers.  They  love  a  little 
brief  authority.  Some  of  them  have  a  letter  S 
on  their  arms  to  show  that  they  are  sirdars. 
Under  them  are  the  topas,  not  jaspers  or  emer- 
alds, but  topas,  whose  duty  is  to  sweep  the 
decks,  and  they  are  marked  with  a  "  T."  How 
the  sirdars  do  like  to  order  about  the  topas ! 
How  they  yank  them  by  the  ear,  and  pull  them 
by  the  hair,  when  they  do  not  do  their  work 
satisfactorily  !  O  thou  autocratic  sirdar,  type 
of  so  many  minds  in  many  larger  kingdoms, 
whose  heads  are  turned  by  a  little  sudden  rise 
in  power  and  dignity,  teach  us  all,  by  thy  ab- 
surd airs,  lessons  of  humility  and  lowliness. 

Many  of  my  fellow-passengers  are  much 
given  to  ornaments.  To  be  sure,  most  of  them 
are  absurdly  poor,  a  quarter  of  an  anna  (one- 
half  a  cent)  being  more  than  the  united  cash 
possessions  of  some  whole  families ;  but  these 


210 


Fellow  Travellers 


same  families  indulge  in  many  brass  bangles 
and  ornaments.  For  instance,  in  each  car  of 
one  of  my  fellow-passengers  I  counted  four  ear- 
rings ;  in  her  nose  were  three  more  ornaments, 
one  on  each  side  and  one  depending  from  the 
cartilaginous  division  in  the  middle.  Three  of 
her  toes  also  sported  a  heavy  pewter  ring  each, 
while  her  ankles  and  wrists  jingled  with  many 
bracelets.  The  total  money  value  of  the  whole 
ornamental  outfit  might  possibly  be  five  cents; 
but  I  noticed  that  because  of  them  she  put  on 
many  airs,  and  seemed  to  consider  herself  quite 
superior  to  unadorned  females. 

In  the  eyes  of  the  angels,  the  sky  pilot  said 
to  himself,  is  it  not  possible  that  the  crowns  of 
royalty  and  the  coronets  of  nobility  and  the 
diamonds  of  the  rich,  which  are  the  occasion  of 
so  much  exclusiveness  on  the  one  side  and  envy 
on  the  other,  are  of  no  more  value  than  this 
poor  coolie's  baubles? 

Again,  my  fellow-passengers  have  many 
habits  that  ofTend  a  squeamish  stomach  and  a 
sensitive  soul.  They  are  quarrelsome,  and 
sometimes  must  be  tied  to  the  rail  for  fighting. 
They  eat  more  like  pigs  at  a  trough  than  like 
human  beings.  Fingers,  in  their  estimation, 
were  evidently  made  long  before  spoons  and 
forks.  They  have  never  discovered  the  use  of 
a  pocket-handkerchief, and  the  "Madras  hunt" 
is  constantly  in  progress  on  deck. 


A  Sky  Pilot  on  a  Coolie  Ship    211 

But  from  twenty-three  days  amid  these  uu- 
pleasant  sights  and  sounds,  and  worse  smells, 
the  sky  pilot  is  determfned  to  learn  a  lesson  of 
tolerance  and  humility;  for  is  there  not  high 

T    ,"'{,  .^,'  o'"  '^^'"^'  "'"  '"^"3^  thi"gs  we 
offend  all    ?    Sky  pilot,  look  to  thyself.     The 

coolies  are  not  the  only  ones  who  have  joints  in 

their  armor  and  flies  in  their  ointment. 


f 


'i 

i 


mam 


XXXV 


TWENTY-THBEE    DAYS  AT  SEA  Ain>  SOME  RE- 
FLECTIONS 

Twenty-three  days  at  sea,  the  only  white 
passenger  on  a  crowded  ship,  gives  one  time  for 
many  reflections.  I  hope  I  have  not  entirely 
wasted  my  time  ;  and,  if  you  do  not  c'jject,  my 
dear  fellow  travellers,  I  will  share  some  of  my 
thoughts  with  you ;  though,  as  I  know  the  an- 
tipathy of  most  mortals  to  moral  reflections, 
and  the  inconsiderateness  of  many  moral  reflec- 
tors, I  will  try  not  to  bore  you. 

In  the  first  place,  we  are  all  here  together  on 
this  ship  for  better  or  worse  for  three  and 
twenty  days.  There  is  no  getting  off  the  ship. 
There  is  no  calling  at  any  island  or  port  on  the 
way.  Here  we  are,  and  here  we  must  stay  for 
three  weeks  and  two  days,  according  to  the 
decree  of  the  Natal  government,  to  give  any 
infectious  disease  we  may  have  brought  from 
India  time  to  show  itself.  If  the  poorest  cooli^^ 
should  be  taken  with  the  cholera,  we  should  ail 
be  involved  in  a  common  danger.  If  the 
smallest  little  naked  child,  kicking  about  on 
the  decks,  should  have  the  smallpox,  we  should 

212 


Twenty-three  Days  at  Sea         213 

all  be  quarantined  after  arrival,  perhaps  for 
weeks.  I  was  obliged  to  sign  a  contract  before 
coining  on  board,  saying  that  I  would  submit, 
if  necessary,  to  the  same  quarantine  "as  the 
other  emigrants  "  on  the  bluff  at  Durban. 

What  is  this  but  saying,  as  the  Scripture 
eaith,  "If  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members 
suffer  with  it"?  How  admirable  an  illustra- 
tion for  good-citizenship  committees  I  We  as 
a  nation  are  all  metaphorically  "in  the  same 
boat,"  as  I  am  actually  with  these  four  hundred 
coolies.  If  one  poor  emigrant  to  America  in- 
troduces moral  contagion,  the  whole  country 
suffers  more  or  less  contamination.  The  true 
patriot  is  the  one  who  tries  to  stop  the  disease 
before  the  whole  body  politic  is  sick  and  sore. 

Again,  I  have  often  reflected  that  there  is 
just  one  man  on  board  who  knows  the  way 
o\  er  this  interminable  waste  of  waters.  Even 
the  first  mate  at  the  beginning  of  the  voyage 
did  not  know  the  course  we  should  take.  When 
I  asked  him  on  the  first  day  out,  he  told  me  he 
could  not  tell  how  "  the  old  man,"  as  he  called 
the  captain,  had  decided  to  go. 

But  the  captain  knew.  He  had  studied  the 
charts,  and  knew  how  the  currents  set  at  this 
time  of  year,  and  when  the  trade-winds  would 
be  felt,  and  where  good  weather  might  be  e*:- 
pected;  and  so  he  steered  cautiously  around 
Ceylon,  skirted  the   Maldive   Islands,  struck 


I 

I*' 
I 


214 


Fellow  Travellers 


boldly  across  the  Indian  Ocean,  took  the  nar- 
row channel  between  bold  Comoro  and  Johanna 
off  the  coast  of  Madagascar,  and  then  steamed 
down  the  middle  of  the  great  Mozambique 
Channel  to  Durban.  I  am  glad  he  knows  the 
way.  It  makes  very  little  difference  whether  I 
do  or  not.     He  directs  the  ship. 

I  like  to  think  of  the  "  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion "  sometimes  as  a  ship-captain  rather  than 
as  a  military  captain.     He  knows  the  way,  and 
he  steers  my  bark.     The  captain  of  our  steamer 
knows,  every  day  at  noon,  after  he  '  as  "  taken 
the  sun,"  just  where  we  are,  even  within  a 
mile ;  and  I  have  faith  to  believe  that  he  will 
find  the  little  dent  on  the  African  coast  called 
Durban  harbor,  after  crossing  this  great  and 
wide  sea,  and  will  take  me  in  safety  across  the  bar. 
I  have  the  same  faith,  infinitely  increased,  in  the 
great  Captain,  and  when  each  night  comes  I 
can  peacefully  go  to  sleep.     He  is  at  the  helm. 
He  knows  the  safe  harbor  at  the  end.    He  will 
take  me  across  the  bar. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  ocean  currents.  They 
are  a  great  factor  on  this  voyage.  Sometimes 
they  are  against  us,  retarding  our  speed  from 
two  to  four  knots  an  hour;  sometimes,  and 
more  often,  for  our  captain  knows  where  they 
run  and  how  to  take  advantage  of  them,  they 
are  with  us,  helping  our  speed  just  as  much. 
They  arc   like  vast  rivers,  deeper  and  wider 


I 


•:^rm: 


m^ 


Twenty-three  Days  at  Sea         215 

and  stronger  than  any  Mississippi  or  Amazon, 
flowing  through  the  midst  of  the  ocean. 

So  in  all  our  lives  are  such  strong,  over- 
sweeping  currents  of  passion,  of  circumstance, 
of  environment,  of  prejudice.  They  are  un- 
seen of  men,  but  none  the  less  real  and  potent. 
Our  Captain,  too,  knows  where  these  life-cur- 
rents run;  and,  if  we  allow  our  lives  to  be 
guided  by  him,  he  will  so  steer  our  course  that 
all  these  currents  will  be  a  help,  not  a  hin- 
drance. Even  when  they  seem  most  adverse 
for  a  time,  we  can  make  head  against  them  if 
we  will,  as  our  iron  steamer  with  its  thousand- 
horse-power  engine  makes  head  against  the  ad- 
verse current  of  the  Indian  Ocean. 

Once  more,  the  end  of  the  voyage  is  always 
in  mind,  a  joyful  anticipation.     What  would 
induce  a  landsman  with  a  quiet,  comfortable 
home  to  leave  it,  and  endure  the  miseries  of 
seasickness  twenty-three  days  on  a  coolie  ship 
with  its  filth  and  its  indiflferent  food,  its  luke- 
warm water,  its  cockroaches,  its  other  vermin 
that  it  is  still  less  proper  to  mention  in  polite 
society,  and  its  unutterable  smells?      What 
would  induce  one  to  do  this?    Why,  the  end 
in  view,  to  be  sure,  would  induce  you  or  me  or 
any  of  us  to  take  the  voyage.     If  it  was  our 
duty  and  we  could  succeed  in  planting  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  a  little  more  firmly  in  the  great 
African  continent,  there  are  few  of  us  who 


■'I 


i 
I 


•-*.',^.*-*,_«»,u»Wfc«,i^:.^y*^*,-Lk,  -towfttf^ifciteWiiJi^ 


2l6 


Fellow  Travellers 


if  I 


■f  ! 


would  not  start  to-morrow.  Many  times  I 
have  thought  of  South  Africa  and  the  work 
there,  and  then  of  the  home-going  afterward ; 
and  almost  every  hour  has  been  brightened  by 
present  work  and  pleasant  anticipations. 

Why  should  we  not  brighten  our  long 
earthly  journey  far  more  than  we  do  with  de- 
lightful anticipations  of  the  journey's  end,  and 
of  the  work  and  the  home  that  await  us? 


XXXVI 


AFBICA  AT  LAST 


Herb  we  are,  at  last,  my  dear  fellow  travel- 
lers, in  South  Africa,  the  land  of  our  hopes 
and  ianticipations  for  many  a  long  week.  A 
wonderful  country  is  Natal,  with  its  lovely, 
rolling  hills,  clothed  in  living  green,  its  deep 
caBons,  its  vast  table-lands  dotted  with  the 
cattle  from  a  thousand  hillsides ;  a  country  of 
marvellous  resources,  of  brilliant  promise,  of  a 
checkered  anc  blood-stained  history,  but  of  a 
glorious  future,  I  believe. 

Christian  Endeavor,  too,  at  least  in  Natal  and 
the  Transvaal,  is  mostly  in  the  future,  and  these 
are  the  days  of  beginnings. 

I  landed  in  Durban,  being  set  free  from  the 
prison  pest-house  of  the  emigrant  steamer  on 
the  twenty-third  of  March;  and  that  same 
evening  I  attended  a  Christian  Endeavor  meet- 
ing in  the  Baptist  church  of  Pastor  Rose,  who 
has  the  only  living  Young  People's  society  in 
the  city,  though  there  are  two  Juniors.  There 
has  been  a  sad  mortality  among  the  societies  in 
Durban,  something  like  the  rinderpest  among 
the  cattle  in  the  Transvaal. 
I  do  not  know  what  the  reason  is,  unless  it 
217 


I 


I 


I 


2l8 


Fellow  Travellers 


U 


!!' 


may  be  due  to  the  bacillus  "  amusement "  or 
"  entertainment  "  ;  but  certain  it  is  that  in  no 
other  part  of  the  world  have  there  been  so 
many  deaths  in  the  Christian  Endeavor  family. 
In  fact,  it  is  usually  the  rarest  thing  in  the 
world  to  hear  of  the  death  of  a  society  once 
fairly  established. 

I  especially  enjoyed  a  visit  of  three  hours 
(which  was  all  the  many  meetings  in  Durban 
allowed)  to  Amanzimtote,  one  of  the  stations 
of  the  American  Board's  Zulu  mission.  First 
an  hour  in  the  train,  then  three  hours  in  a 
wagon  drawn  by  four  oxen,  and  then  the  white 
buildings  and  schoolhouses  of  the  Adams 
mission  station  at  Amanzimtote  came  in  sight. 

I  should  like  to  describe  this  work  at  length, 
and  tell  you  about  all  these  devoted  workers ; 
but  space  forbids.  I  can  assure  you  there  is  no 
more  heroic,  self-sacrificing,  noble  body  of 
mission  workers  in  all  the  world ;  and  within  a 
very  few  weeks  the  prayers  of  scores  of  years 
have  been  answered,  and  the  labors  of  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  rewarded,  by  the  most 
remarkable  outpouring  of  God's  Spirit  that 
this,  or,  perhaps,  any  other  station  has  ever 
known. 

As  I  write,  meetings  of  wonderful  power  are 
held  daily.  They  extend  into  the  night,  and 
sometimes  last  all  night;  the  sons  and  the 
daughters    are    prophesying,    and    the    Zulu 


'->'-'Jl-.Vilg.  '■ 


Africa  at  Last 


219 


Christians  are  bowed  down  with  a  sense  of  their 
sin  like  reeds  in  the  river  by  the  onrushing 
current. 

One  of  the  devoted  missionaries  here,   the 
Rev.  Charles  N.  Ransom,  has  been  the  superin- 
tendent of  Christian  Endeavor  in  South  Africa 
for  seven  years.     He  has  been  instant  in  season 
and  out  of  season.     I  dimly  suspect  that  he 
seems  to  some  of  the  brethren  like  a  Christian 
Endeavor  crank,  who  has  been  trying  to  intro- 
duce some  newfangled  Yankee  religious  patent. 
To  me,  if  he  will  forgive  the  illustration,  he 
seems  more  like  a  twenty-four  ox  team,  such  as 
I  have  often  seen  on  the  roads  of  South  Africa, 
striving  to  drag  the  wagon  Christian  Endeavor 
over  the  heavy  roads  and  up  the  steep  hills  of 
indifference  that  always  oppose  a  new  idea. 

In  Pietermaritzburg,  the  capital  of  the  col- 
ony, are  two  good  Endeavor  societies,  one  in 
the  Congregational,  the  other  in  the  Baptist, 
church ;  and  the  meetings  here,  though  some- 
what interfered  with  by  deluges  of  rain  (real 
tropical  cloudbursts),  were  large  and  full  of 
spiritual  power.  The  chain  of  prayer  and  the 
warm  evangelistic  spirit  made  me  feel  that  I 
was  indeed  at  home.  Here  live  Rev.  Walter 
Searle  and  his  gifted  wife,  both  of  whom  are  so 
well  known  by  their  writings  in  connection 
with  the  Keswick  movement.  Here,  too,  I  was 
the  guest  of  Mr.  Henry  Bale,  a  member  of  the 


■■■i 


■■'' 


•ii 


I 


:i 


I 


220 


Fellow  Travellers 


Natal  Parliament,  and  one  of  the  leading  oiti- 
zens  in  the  colony,  who  has  been  induced  to 
open  his  beautiful  home  most  hospitably,  and 
especially  to  homeless  young  men,  by  reading 
the  books  o".  "  Pansy,"  un  author  whom  he 
greatly  admires.  How  far  these  books  have 
carried  the  spirit  of  their  author,  and  how  these 
pansies  bloom  in  far-away  lands ! 

In  Ladysmith  we  had  two  meetings,  the 
second  one  in  the  pretty  town  hall  ;  and  the 
next  day  I  pushed  on  across  the  uplands  of  the 
Transvaal  to  Johannesburg,  one  of  the  modern 
wonders  of  the  world ;  a  city  of  more  than  a 
hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  which  has  been 
waved  into  existence  in  ten  years  by  the  magic 
wand  of  gold. 

We  are  reminded  constantly  that  things  are 
in  a  very  unsettled  and  perilous  state  here,  and 
that  a  revolution  may  set  in  at  any  moment. 
On  the  boarders  of  the  Transvaal  I  was  stopped, 
and  my  passport  demanded,  and  very  properly, 
owing  to  the  excited  state  of  feeling  in  this  re- 
public. On  arriving,  I  was  interviewed  by  a 
reporter  of  The  Star,  or  rather  of  The  Comet, 
for  the  day  before.  The  Star,  an  independent 
newspaper,  had  been  suspended  for  three 
months  by  President  Kruger.  2%e  Comet  then 
appeared,  explaining  that  2%e  Star  had  disap- 
peared  into  space  for  three  months,  but  77*e 
Comet,  another  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  with  a 


m^ 


Africa  at  Last 


221 


solid  head  and  a  frightful  tail,  had  taken  its 
jilace. 

Now,  as  I  write  these  last  words,  comes  the 
glad  news  from  home  of  the  meetings  on 
Christian  Endeavor  Day,  and  of  the  deepening 
of  the  spiritual  life  of  so  many  in  connection 
with  Mr.  Meyer's  visit  to  America.  It  is  but  a 
repetition  of  the  good  news  that  has  come  to 
me  from  many  a  land  during  the  past  year. 
North  America  and  South  Africa  can  join 
hands  in  this.  Anglo-Saxon  Christians  and 
Zulu  Christians  have  alike  shared  the  blessing. 
Dear  Endeavorer,  you  who  read  these  words, 
has  this  blessing  untold  come  into  your  individ- 
ual life  ?    If  not,  why  not  ? 


I 


XXXVII 

THE   AFRICAN   AT   ROME 

The  African  at  home  in  a  bright,  good-na* 
tured,  cheerful,  musical,  happy-go-lucky,  im- 
provident, impulsive,  faithful  fellow. 

To  be  sure,  there  are  Africans  and  Africans. 
They  speak  many  languages  and  occupy  widely 
separated  sections  of  a  vast  continent,  but  they 
have  many  characteristics  in  common.  It  must 
also  be  said  that  there  is  a  great  difference  be- 
tween the  "raw  Kafl5r"in  his  kraal  and  the 
civilized  Christian  native.  But  let  us  look  at 
him  as  we  find  him,  in  a  s'  of  nature  and 
also  in  a  state  of  grace.     Th  i  undoubtedly 

represents  the  finest  race  of  Atricans  physically 
and  mentally.  He  has  impressed  his  character- 
istics upon  many  other  races  whom  he  has  con- 
quered, while  he  in  turn  has  been  conquered  by 
the  English  and  the  Dutch  and— the  Maxim 
gun. 

As  you  see  the  Zulu  in  the  streets  of  Durban, 
for  instance,  he  strikes  you  as  the  jolliest,  light- 
est-hearted individual  in  existence.  He  has  a 
superabundance  of  life  and  vitality.  He  dances 
and  sings  upon  the  street-corner.  When  he 
draws  you  in  the  jinrikisha,  he  prances  and 

282 


I 


*-*.*3/W>*  •^" 


mlimit 


it,  good-na* 
lucky, 


im 


J  Africans, 
upy  widely 
it,  but  they 
I.  It  must 
Terence  he- 
al and  the 

us  look  at 
nature  and 
idoubtedly 

physically 
1  chnracter- 
le  has  con- 
iquered  by 
he  Maxim 

3f  Durban, 
liest,  light- 
He  has  a 
He  dances 
When  he 
ances  and 


*^"^S^  ».'k»ac*'. 


ij0 


\r 


i 
S(  it      ' 

!    (  !' 


'( 


J    ^ 


ii   J  J 


fCM 


I « 


-s: 


M. 


msM 


:min 


wmmmimMtimi/immmmm 


The  African  at  Home 


223 


gallops  and  puffs  and  snorts  like  a  steam- 
engine  ;  and  "  choc,  choo,  clioos  "  as  if  he  were 
a  veritable  locomotive.  Life  seems  to  be  one 
prolonged  holiday  to  him  if  only  he  can  get 
enough  "  mealies  "  (Indian  corn)  and  sweet  po- 
tatoes to  eat. 

In  the  most  fat;tastio  and  grotesque  garbs 
does  he  dress.  You  will  see  him  in  all  sober- 
ness marching  down  the  principal  street  of  Dur- 
ban with  a  battered  tall  silk  hat  rakish  ly 
perched  on  one  side  of  his  head,  and  his  nether 
extremities  clad  in  a  gorgeous  blanket  of  as 
many  colors  as  Joseph's  traditional  coat.  Or 
you  will  see  him  arrayed  chiefly  in  beads ;  a 
bead  apron  tied  about  his  loinn,  a  heavy  chain 
of  beads  about  his  neck,  a  huge  coil  of  beads 
bound  about  bis  forehead,  great  bead  earrings 
in  his  ears,  bracelets  and  ankhts  of  the  same, 
and  a  pair  of  big  bead  goggles,  with  no  glasses 
in  them,  over  his  eyes. 

Many  of  the  "  'rickshaw "  men  wear  huge 
ostrich  plumes  as  tall  as  a  drum-major's,  while 
others  bind  a  pair  of  great  horus  from  some  de- 
funct steer  upon  their  heads,  and  go  galloping 
gayly  off  with  their  big  baby-carriages,  contain- 
ing one  or  two  men,  as  if  they  were  mere  chil- 
dren. When  such  an  apparition  appears  upon 
the  street,  you  feel  inclined  to  look  at  his  feet 
to  see  whether  he  has  huufs  as  well  as  horns. 

Our  African  at  home  lives  in  a  grass  or  mud 


'^\ 


I 


i 


■aai.i--j,i^,-'»-,T=.».v^...,^~..~.-.«.,.-...-,^.y.fp,-.,Y>^.^-^;.y — •-  [f^-,  v.vg 


■■»  <ilMjj>l»i)IH>i  l>  \<nm^w}>  *»>'t'-r 


:i;"-:.# 


i 


'Si' 
'"'I 

J 


m 


224 


Fellow  Travellers 


hut,  of  n  circular  shape  and  some  fift<)an  or 
twenty  feet  in  diameter.  The  floor  is  made  of 
hard  pounded  mud,  and  in  the  middle  is  a  mud 
fireplace,  from  which  the  smoke  curls  up 
through  a  hole  in  the  roof.  He  requires  very 
little  furniture,  for  he  squats  oc  the  floor,  and 
rolls  himself  up  in  his  blanket  at  night,  with 
his  head  on  a  curved  wooden  block  in  lieu  of  a 
pillow. 

I  have  crawled  into  several  of  these  kraal 
huts,  and  can  say  from  experience  that  loftiness 
must  be  abased,  and  that  "topknot"  must 
come  down,  before  one  can  enter  these  straight 
and  narrow  doorways. 

If  our  Zulu  is  well-to-do,  he  has  three  or 
four  or  even  a  dozen  or  more  huts,  in  each  one 
of  which  a  dusky  wife  presides  and  rears  her 
own  brood  of  pickaninnies.  Moreover,  the 
wives  must  earn  theii'  husband's  bread,  while 
the  lord  of  creation  sits  lazily  by,  engaged  in 
the  arduous  operation  of  smoking  a  pipe  or  a 
cigar.  A  cigar,  by  the  way,  he  usually  puts 
into  his  mouth  fire  end  first,  so  as  to  get  the 
benefit  of  all  the  smoke. 

Since  the  women  do  the  work,  it  comes  about 
that  they  are  valuable  property  in  Zululand, 
and  a  man  is  accounted  a  citizen  of  substance 
and  weight  according  to  the  number  of  his 
wives.  Instead  of  giving  a  dowry,  as  do  the 
fatners  of  the  countries  where  effete  Western 


4  '«< 


The  African  at  Home 


I  fift*ian  or 
'  is  made  of 
le  is  a  mud 
curls  up 
quires  very 
e  floor,  and 
night,  with 
in  lieu  of  a 

these  kraal 
lat  loftiness 
not"  must 
Bse  straight 

IS  three  or 
in  each  one 
i  rears  her 
reover,  the 
read,  while 
engaged  in 
a  pipe  or  a 
sually  puts 
to  get  the 

lomes  about 
1  Zululand, 
f  substance 
iber  of  his 
,  as  do  the 
te  Western 


225 


civilization  prevails,  the  would-be  husband  pays 
the  father  roundly  for  liis  daughter,  a  likely 
young  girl  bringing  from  twelve  to  twenty 
cows,  while,  if  the  father  is  a  chief,  or  head 
man,  he  will  not  part  with  his  daughter  for  less 
than  thirty  cows. 

•'  Revolting !  "  do  you  say  ?  "A  disgusting, 
degrading  habit  "  ?  But  how  much  worse  are 
these  open  bargains  than  the  marriages  for  con- 
venience or  for  fortune,  or  the  sale  of  American 
beauty  for  an  English  coronet  ?  I  venture  to 
say  there  is  quite  as  much  love  among  the 
KafBrs  of  the  kiaals,  who  buy  their  wives  for  a 
dozen  cows,  as  among  the  British  or  American 
youth  who  find  it  convenient  to  marry  a  girl 
with  a  cool  hundred  thousand  in  the  bank. 

I  must  say  that  it  appeared  to  me  that  the 
natives  were  hardly  treated  in  Africa  ;  far  more 
roughly  on  their  native  soil  than  in  America, 
the  land  of  their  forced  adoption. 

For  instance,  in  all  Soutli  Africa  there  is  a 
curfew  law  which  obliges  the  African,  but  not 
the  European,  to  be  at  home  bafore  nine  o'clock 
in  the  evening  ;  otherwise,  ho  is  liable  to  arrest 
and  imprisonment.  This  law  is  said  to  be  most 
beneficial,  but  it  surely  bears  hard  upon  the 
poor  fellow  who  may  be  going  home  from  a  re- 
ligious meeting,  or  is  called  to  see  a  sick  friend, 
and  has  not  reached  home  before  the  stroke  of 


n 


nine. 


fcJMjj'S-inr.iHiinniT-  ■ess-a. 


•'""^'iatUkiSltVi  I  li  iltmi 


i-'i»-«:«;,^-«a 


■■i 


226 


Fellow  Travellers 


To  be  sure,  a  pass  from  his  master  or  pastor 
may  siive  him  from  arrest,  if  he  has  been 
thoughtful  enough  to  provide  himself  with  one. 
But  change  places  with  the  Zulu,  my  pale-faced 
brother,  and  consider  how  you  would  like  to 
have  some  lordly  black  man  regulate  your  hours 
of  going  or  coming. 

Moreover,  in  many  parts  of  South  Africa,  if 
not  in  all,  the  natives  are  not  allowed  to  walk 
upon  the  sidewalks,  or  to  ride  in  the  street-cars ; 
and,  if  they  wish  to  go  by  rail,  they  cannot  go 
in  first  or  second  class  cars,  but  must  herd  to- 
gether in  filthy  third  or  fourth  class  carriages. 
On  some  of  the  farms  they  are  treated  with 
abominable  cruelty,  and  in  many  parts  of  the 
continent  a  white  man  would  never  be  brought 
to  book  for  killing  a  "  nigger." 

In  short,  the  black  man  in  his  own  land  has 
few  rights  which  the  white  man  is  bound  to  re- 
spect ;  and  there  is  no  room  on  African  soil  for 
the  doctiine  that  all  men  were  created  free  and 
equal. 

Bad  as  may  be  the  treatment  of  the  biack 
man  in  some  other  parts  of  the  world,  there  is 
no  place  where  he  is  so  shamefully  treated  as  in 
the  land  of  his  birth,  the  land  of  which  he  has 
been  largely  despoiled. 

But  there  is  a  brighter  side  to  this  picture. 
There  are  many  earnest  Christian  people  who 
feel  these  wrongs  and  are  trying  to  right  them. 


w>^ 


The  African  at  Home 


227 


er  or  pastor 
)  has  been 
If  with  one. 
y  pale-faced 
uld  like  to 
your  hours 

rh  Africa,  if 
ved  to  walk 
street-oars ; 
f  cannot  go 
list  herd  to- 
>s  carriages, 
reated  with 
larts  of  the 
be  brought 

rn  land  has 
lound  to  re- 
can  soil  for 
«d  free  and 

I  the  biack 
rid,  there  is 
reated  as  in 
hich  he  has 

;his  picture, 
people  who 
right  them. 


Many  churches  and  schools  have  been  estab- 
lished for  the  natives,  which  are  doing  a  splen- 
did work.  Almost  all  denominations  of  Chris- 
tians are  alive  to  the  importance  of  the  work 
among  the  Africans.  Better  than  all  else,  in 
no  part  of  the  world,  perhaps,  is  the  Spirit  of 
God  working  more  wonderfully  than  in  the 
American  Zulu  mission  of  Natal.  For  sixty 
years  faithful  missionaries  of  the  cross  have  been 
laboring  in  this  field,  often  amid  much  discour- 
agement and  with  small  results ;  but  within  a 
twelvemonth  a  change  has  come,  the  flood-gates 
have  been  opened  and  the  showers  of  grace 
have  followed  the  drops  of  divine  favor. 

Heart-searchings  and  confessions  began 
among  the  Christians.  Especially  in  the  mis- 
sion schools  for  young  men  and  women  did  the 
work  of  grace  become  manifest. 

Meetings  which  began  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening  were  continued  until  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  sometimes  until  the  gray  dawn 
appeared  in  the  eastern  sky,  and  even  then  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  the  missionaries  could 
persuade  the  penitent  young  souls  to  go  to  their 
homes  and  get  a  little  rest  before  beginning  the 
work  of  another  day. 

"The  sons  and  the  daughters  prophesied," 
and  scores  and  hundreds  gave  their  hearts  to 
Christ.  The  work  spread  from  mission  station 
to  mission  station;  the  missionaries  themselves 


• 


J 


iHfli 


i( 


'* 


Hi 


S  i 


«ll 


{    ■■ 


bj 


228 


Fellow  Travellers 


were  greatly  moved  to  a  new  consecration,  and 
preached  and  labored  with  hopefulness  and  joy 
and  success  such  as  they  had  never  known  be- 
fore. 

As  I  write,  the  good  work  is  still  going  on 
with  ever  increasing  power.  May  it  spread 
throughout  all  the  land  till  darkest  Africa  be- 
roines  bright. 


.„,  *  -  ..,,.     „;.,»      „.^  -.  .-  .  »i  ^  A,  •tlt^MiiM-^f^ '  V%!i<"J*^!^'»{^^Jjj'^^!>^ 


cratiun,  and 
less  and  joy 
r  known  be- 
ll going  on 
y  it  spread 
t  Africa  be- 


XXXVIII 

THE  TWO  EKPUBLICS  OP  THE  SOUTHBEN  CROSS 

Two  little  republics  under  the  Southern 
Cross  have  attracted  more  than  their  fair  share 
of  the  world's  attention  during  the  last  twelve 
months.  These  two  States  are  the  South 
African  Republic,  or  the  Transvaal,  as  the  land 
across  the  river  Vaal  is  indifferently  called,  and 
the  Orange  Free  State,  to  the  south  of  the 
Transvaal,  which  took  its  name  from  valiant 
William  of  Orange,  and  in  honor  of  its  name 
covers  its  coat  of  arms  with  fruitful  orange- 
trees  in  full  bearing. 

The  South  African  Republic,  it  is  true,  has 
rather  monopolized  the  world's  attention,  to  the 
exclusion  of  its  smaller  sister.  Telegraph  wires 
and  cables  have  been  kept  hot  with  news  more 
or  less  (usually  less)  authentic,  which  would 
have  been  exceedingly  important  if  true.  Its 
old  Dutch  president,  Johannes  Stephanos  Paul 
Kruger,  has  been  treated  by  reporters  and 
newspaper  correspondents  as  though  he  was  one 
of  the  world's  great  potentates— as  indeed  he  is 
if  a  man's  power  is  measured  by  the  amount  of 
commotion  he  is  able  to  make  in  the  cabinet 
councils  of  the  nations.  His  goings  out  and 
'  229 


:t 


■*-»••  n«rf»*V*S«f»?t*f«i«Uni*!«f»*.* 


m 


■\' 


I 


I 

F 


■^*i^ 


j 
i  i 


.230 


Fellow  Travellers 


his  comings  in  have  been  recorded,  his  down- 
Biltings  and  his  uprisings,  and  when  he  sneezes 
it  is  almost  as  though  Queen  Victoria  herself 
had  taken  cold. 

One  of  the  anomalous  things  of  present-day 
politics  is  the  power  which  this  old,  unlettered 
Boer  has  been  able  to  exert  in  the  world.  I 
use  these  adjectives  with  the  utmost  respect, 
simply  in  the  interests  of  accuracy,  for  with  all 
his  power  and  deserved  influence,  the  old  ruler 
cf  the  Transvaal  is,  from  the  scholar's  ordinary 
standpoint,  one  of  the  most  ignorant  men  who 
ever  sat  in  a  presidential  chair.  There  is  but 
one  book  which  he  can  read,  and  that  is  the 
Bible.  But,  it  may  be  asked,  how  does  it  hap- 
pen that  if  he  can  read  one  book  he  cannot 
read  all  books  ?  The  explanation  given  in  the 
Transvaal  is  that,  being  gifted  with  a  remark- 
ably tenacious  memory,  he  has,  from  constantly 
hearing  the  Bible  read  in  public  from  his  boy- 
hood up,  committed  all  of  its  more  familiar  pas- 
sages to  heart ;  so  that  when  he  takes  up  a  copy 
of  the  Scriptures  and  his  eye  lights  upon  a  well- 
known  verse,  he  can  go  on  indefinitely  from 
memory. 

Nor  can  this  modern  South  African  Colossus 
write  any  better  than  he  can  read.  To  be  sure, 
he  can  sign  his  name  to  public  documents,  but 
in  somewhat  the  same  way  that  Osmau  the 
Great,   the    founder  and  first  sultan  of    the 


■>tf'<  •«..«*' 


■.fatr^,^Tfp;^^*^^^.^^%m^.^^-f'-Vf^^^'&!^W^ 


,  his  dowii- 
1  he  sneezes 
aria  herself 

present-day 
,  unlettered 
e  world.  I 
[>st  respect, 
for  with  all 
lie  old  ruler 
I's  ordinary 
it  men  who 
?here  is  but 
that  is  the 
ioes  it  hap- 
he  cannot 
riven  in  the 
[i  a  remark- 
I  constantly 
om  his  boy- 
aniiliar  pas- 
;s  up  a  copy 
upon  a  well- 
nitely  from 

an  Colossus 
To  be  sure, 
aments,  but 
Osmau  the 
»n  of    the 


The  Two  Republics  231 

Osmanli  Turks,  uoed  to  sign  his  name  to  public 
(locumentB— by  dipping  his  hand  in  a  saucer  of 
ink  and  spreading  it  out  on  the  paper,  thus 
literally   making  his  »iffn  manual.    Not   that 
President  Kruger  has  not  got  beyond  Osman 
the  First,  for  he  can  guide  the  quill  sufficiently 
to  sign  his  name  to  papers  of  state ;  but  to 
write  one  of  those  papers,  or  even  an  ordinary 
letter,  with  his  own  hand,  would  be  quite  be- 
yond  his  powers,  is  the  story  often  told  in 
Pretoria.    And  yet  should  I  leave  the  impres- 
sion with  my  readers  that  he  was  simply  an 
ignorant  old  Boer,  it  would  be  a  very  false  im- 
pression.    From  the  scholar's  standpoint,  pos- 
sibly he  is  that,  but  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
politician  and  man  of  affairs  he  is  one  of  the 
shrewd  great  men  of  the  time.    If  he  cannot 
write  a  state  document,  he  can  dictate  one.     He 
knows  what  is  in  every  one  that  he  signs,  and 
his  native  shrewdness  enables  him  to  get  the 
better  of  far  more  scholarly  rulers  of  mightier 
realms  than  his  when  the  interests  of  his  "poor 
burghers,"  as  he  pathetically  calls  them,  are 
concerned. 

To  call  him  the  Lincoln  of  South  Africa  is 
altogether  extravagant  praise.  He  has  none  of 
the  broad,  far-seeing,  statesmanlike  views  of 
Lincoln;  his  integrity  is  far  from  spotless  if 
common  report  is  not  utterly  libellous ;  and  he 
has  little  of  the  brilliant  eloquence  that  made 


am^m-f^' 


23^ 


Fellow  Travellers 


possible  a  Gettysburg  oration.  But  he  is  like 
Lincoln  in  this  important  respect — he  knows 
the  common  people  thoroughly  and  accurately. 
He  sprang  from  thora ;  he  is  one  of  them. 
With  all  his  wealth  and  power,  he  has  never 
set  himself  above  them.  When  I  called  upon 
liim  in  Pretoria  a  few  weeks  ago  a  young  Boer 
farmer  was  sitting  upon  the  veranda  of  the 
presidential  mansion,  which,  by  the  way,  is  a 
very  unpretentious  cottage.  The  young  farmer 
was  coUarless  and  dirty,  and  his  mud  splashed 
brogans  showed  that  he  was  a  son  of  the  soil ; 
but  he  evidently  felt  that  there  was  nothing  in 
his  appearance  or  his  clothes  which  should  de- 
bar him  from  a  familiar  interview  with  his 
president.  The  president,  too,  seemed  to  be 
of  the  same  opinion,  and  they  chatted  together 
as  unconstrainedly  as  any  two  cronies,  while 
the  old  vrow  Madam  Kruger,  sitting  near  by, 
placidly  knit  her  heavy  woollen  stockings  like 
any  venerable  housewife  of  the  Transvaal. 

This  is  the  secret  of  the  power  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  South  African  Republic.  He  is 
one  of  the  people — a  representative  Boer;  a 
typical  Dutch  farmer,  with  all  the  limitations 
and  all  the  sturdiness,  conservatism,  strong  re- 
ligious feeling,  and  native  common  sense  of  his 
race  developed  in  an  unusual  degree.  These 
qualities,  too,  characteristic  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree  of  the  Boers  as  a  race,  account  for  the 


j;^a;.*'Sc  .,.wi!fci.*l(tete^ 


The  Two  Republics 


233 


t  he  is  like 
-lie  knows 
accurately. 
)  of  them. 

has  never 
sailed  upon 
roung  Boer 
nda  of  the 
I  way,  is  a 
ung  fanner 
id  splashed 
of  the  soil ; 

nothing  in 
I  should  de- 
V  with  his 
imed  to  be 
ed  together 
•nies,  while 
g  near  by, 
ckings  like 
isvaal. 
f  the  Presi- 
)lic.  He  is 
^e  Boer;  a 

limitations 
I,  strong  re- 
sense  of  his 
ree.  These 
>ater  or  less 
unt  for  the 


prominence  of  their  remote  little  republic  among 
the  greater  nations  of  the  world.  Here  is  a  new 
race,  a  distinct  type  of  mankind,  a  unique  peo- 
ple that  has  found  its  home  in  the  heart  of  South 
Africa.  Except  in  the  matter  of  language, 
they  are  no  more  Dutch  than  the^  are  French 
or  Scotch.  In  fact,  many  of  them  dislike  and 
distrust  the  Holland  Dutch  more  tiian  they  do 
the  EnglJHh  themselves.  A  large  adnjixture  of 
French  Huguenot  blood  flows  in  the  veins  of 
many  of  them,  and  many  families  have  French 
names,  corrupted  often  into  their  Dutch  equiva- 
lents. 

In  religion  the  people  are  far  more  like  the 
Scotch  Covenanters  of  two  centuries  ago  than 
like  the  modern  rationalistic,  sacerdotal  church 
of  Holland.     In  fact,  so  alarmed  were  the  Boers 
some  seventy-five  years  ago  at  the  .spread  of 
rationalistic  formalism  in  their  nation  that  they 
sent  to  Scotland  for  some  young  ministers  who 
were  sound  in  the  faith.     Among  those  who  re- 
sponded to  the  call  was  Andrew  Murray,  the 
father  of  the  Andrew  Murray  of  the  present 
day— that  prince  of  mystics  whose  books  are 
read  by  the  whole  Christian  world.     This  young 
Scotchman  and  his  descendants  and  a  few  oth- 
ers of  his  stamp  have  wonderfully  moulded  the 
religious  life  of  the  two  republics,  and  have  im- 
parted a  sturdy,  God-fearing,  Bible-loving  char- 
acter to  all  their  inhabitants. 


*>*%-'--"^r^  . 


J 


I     ! 


J 


! 


I  1 


'1     i 


I 
I.Ji 


»34 


Fellow  Travellers 


The  Puritan  type  of  character  is  very  strongly 
developed  among  the  Dutch  Boers,  and  this  it 
is  which  the  Rt.  Hon.  Joseph  Chamberlain 
must  reckon  with  in  dealing  with  that  handful 
of  Dutch  farmers  that  inhabit  the  Transvaal. 
I  do  not  mean  to  aver  that  the  Boers  are  either 
as  intelligent  or  as  morally  spotless  as  the  Pil- 
grim fathers ;  and  it  is  very  sure  that  they  are 
not  actuated  by  as  lofty  religious  motives,  nor 
have  they  been  tested  by  such  stern  experience 
as  were  the  Mayflotver'%  passengers  and  their 
descendants.  But  they  certainly  are  imbued 
with  the  Puritan  spirit,  with  many  of  its  excel- 
lencies as  well  as  many  of  its  defects,  and  this 
spirit  makes  them  a  people  to  be  reckoned  with 
by  the  mightiest  of  nations. 

Moreover,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  they 
look  Vjion  the  recent  hordes  of  British  and 
An,cricans  and  Germans — in  fact,  Uitlanders 
generally — b«  interlojKjrs  and  usurpers,  and  that 
• 'cy  have  some  reason  for  this  opinion.  Until 
gold  was  discovered  on  the  Rand  no  one  cared 
for  tho  Transvaal.  The  Boers  might  keep  it  to 
thoiiistrflves  for  all  England  cared.  Who  wished 
for  a  huge  barren  sheep-farm  where  the  prickly- 
pear  was  the  only  thing  that  really  seemed  to 
thrive  ?  Especially  undesirable  was  a  great 
tract  of  ground  where  the  city  of  Johannesburg 
now  stands.  It  was  so  exceedingly  barren  that 
scarcely  could  the  hardy  African  Bhet>p  find 


.*"i:r;m^a-,ms»mtn,-^KfSW^ ' 


OU^ 


sry  strongly 
,  and  tluH  it 
'iianiberluiii 
hat  handful 

Transvaal. 
'8  are  either 
i  as  the  Pil- 
mt  they  are 
nutives,  nor 

experience 
s  and  their 
are  imbued 
of  its  excel- 
its,  and  this 
ikoned  with 

id  that  they 
British   and 

Uitluiiders 
irs,  and  that 
ion.  Until 
o  one  cared 
>t  keep  it  to 
>Vho  wished 
the  prickly- 
r  seemed  to 
as  a  great 
hannesburg 
barren  that 

shebp  find 


The  Two  Republics  23 j 

anything  to  nibble.  On  one  side  was  the  farm 
of  the  Bramble  Fountain,  on  the  other,  a  mile 
away,  the  farm  of  the  Thorn  Fountain.  Their 
very  names  were  unpromising  and  hopeless. 
But  one  fine  morning  pay  streaks  of  gold  were 
found  on  the  ridge  of  land  that  connected  the 
Bramble  Fountain  with  the  Thorn  Fountain, 
and  fiom  that  moment  the  Transvaal  was  a  dif- 
ferent  place.  For  weal  or  woe  the  old  chapter 
of  its  poverty  stricken  history  was  closed  and  a 
new  (lolcondu-like  chapter  was  opened,  and  all 
eyes  were  dazzled  with  visions  of  unbounded 
wealth. 

Then  adventurers  poured  in  from  all  quarters 
of  the  globe— British  and  German,  French  and 
Dutch,  American  and  Portuguese.  The  land 
which  Great  Britain  would  scarcely  take  as  a 
gift  a  few  years  before  was  the  prize  of  many 
covetous  eyes.  The  exchequer  which  had  been 
as  bare  as  Mother  Hubbard's  cupboard  was  soon 
almost  bursting  with  golden  guineas.  Beggars 
suddenly  became  choosers  of  champagne  and 
truffles,  and  the  poor  who  walked  yesterday 
were  riding  in  their  chaises  to-day. 

Upon  the  wretched  soil  of  the  farms  of  the 
Thorn  Fountain  and  the  Bramble  Fountain 
arose  the  stately  city  of  Johannesburg,  with  its 
tall  brick  buildings,  its  churches,  its  big  hotels, 
its  shops  resplendent  with  plate  glass,  its  elec- 
tric tramways,  its  gambling  hells  and  gin-pal- 


SSSS^^f" ' " 


mimmmmmmmmmiimmm 


ti 


;  i 


i.    = 


i"  I 


:i  I 


236 


Fellow  Travellers 


aces.  In  ten  years  the  desert  blossomed,  not 
witli  tlie  rose — nothing  so  innocent  and  fragrant 
as  that — but  it  did  blossom  into  a  great  "rus- 
tling," bustling,  busy,  wicked  city  of  a  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants.  The  mines,  which  now 
almost  surround  tho  city,  continued  to  pour  out 
their  almost  unbounded  stores  of  yellow  metal. 
Some  of  them  pay  120  per  cent  a  year  on  the 
capital  invested.  New  mines  were  constantly 
opened  up,  some  of  tl.  na  as  valuable  as  the 
great  originals,  others  of  them  utterly  worthless. 
Companies  were  floated  with  enormous  capital, 
many  of  them  worth  about  as  much  as  the 
paper  on  which  the  stock  certiflcates  were 
printed.  Speculation  grew  wild  and  ramp  \nt. 
Men  lost  their  heads  and  women  lost  fortunes. 
Kimberley,  which  in  the  early  days  of  its 
diamond  mines  had  passed  through  a  similar 
era  of  wild  excitement,  emptied  its  adventurers 
into  this  new  Golconda.  Barney  Barnato,  who, 
if  general  rumor  is  to  be  believed,  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  colossal  fortune  in  illicit  dia- 
mond-buying at  Kimberley — which  means  buy- 
ing diamonds  for  a  song  of  natives  and  others 
who  had  stolen  them — emigrated  to  Johannes- 
burg and  became  the  mighty  moneyed  magnate 
of  the  Transvaal.  His  partner  in  the  diamond 
business,  Cecil  Rhodes,  while  holding  on  to  his 
diamond  mines,  also  acquired  large  interests  in 
Johannesburg,  and  the  little  Jew  and  the  big 


..■v-'-^-iftAiJ'fSf-'M*^. 


is;..,.i*:^®,f»ffg- 


isomed,  not 
,u(i  fragrant 
great  "  rus- 
f  a  hundred 
which  now 
to  pour  out 
illow  metal. 
year  on  the 
'■  constantly 
ible  as  the 
y  worthless, 
ous  capital, 
uch  as  the 
cates  were 
id  ramp  \nt. 
st  fortunes, 
days  of  its 
;h  a  similar 
idventurers 
>rnato,  who, 
id,  laid  the 
1  illicit  dia- 
means  buy- 
and  others 
)  Johnnnes- 
3d  magnate 
he  diamond 
ig  on  to  his 
interests  in 
md  the  big 


The  Two  Kepublics  237 

Englishman  were  followed  by  a  horde  of  adven- 
turers, little  and  big,  all  on  one  thing  intent, 
and  that  the  putting  the  yellow  money  of  the 
Transvaal  in  their  purses. 

It  can  be  imagined  that  this  golden  stream 
which  began  to  flow  so  suddenly  and  so  un- 
stintedly should  at  its  flood  have  swept  many 
an  otlierwise  stable  character  o£F  its  founda- 
tion.     Foreigners  were  in  possession  of  the 
mines.    Almost  before  the  Boers  had  rubbed 
open  their  drowsy  eyelids  to  see  what  had  hap- 
pened to  their  poverty-stricken  country,  every 
mine  worth  opening  had  bsen  claimed  by  these 
Egyptians,  the  UitJanders,  and  nothing  remained 
to  the  original  inhabitant  j  of  the  Promised  Land 
but-to  spoil  the  Egyptians.     This,  if  the  Egyp- 
tians are  to  be  believed,  th«y  at  once  proceeded 
to  do.    Large  sums  were  charged  for  all  sorts 
of  "  concessions."    Monopolies  were  sold  to  the 
highest  bidder.    Dynamite,  a  necessity  in  gold- 
mining  operations,  was  taxed  till  it  was  almost 
ready  to  explode  from  sheer  indignation.     An 
iniquitous  company  from  Holland  built  the  rail- 
way which  quickly  connected   the   gold-fields 
with  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  immensely  over- 
charged its  patrons  for  transportation. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  this  sudden  rise  of 
the  golden  flood  until  it  submerged  the  whole 
land  left  behind  much  foul  sediment  of  corrup- 
tion  and  bribery  in  high  places  and  in  low. 


:--4ir~^m 


ammti 


'■if*f^ 


!:. 


!    i 


I    1 


l^>i' 


II 


'■N 


•lU.. 


238 


Fellow  Travellers 


One  of  the  many  stoi'ies  current  in  Pretoria, 
the  capital  of  the  Transvaal,  relates  to  the 
"American  spider."  Now  the  American  spider, 
it  must  be  understood,  Bpins  no  film  and  weaves 
no  web ;  it  is  simply  an  inoffensive  four-wheeled 
vehicle  of  light  construction,  imported  from 
America  and  much  in  vogue  in  South  Africa, 
the  vehicle  which  we  should  call  a  buggy. 

On  one  occasion  a  number  of  the  burghers 
who  constitute  the  Volksraad,  or  lower  house 
of  legislature,  voted  for  a  measure  which  greatly 
enriched  one  of  their  number,  whereupon  the 
next  morning  each  one  found  at  his  door  a 
brand-new  American  "spider,"  shining  in  its 
unmarred  paint  and  varnish. 

When  the  Volksraad  assembled,  one  of  the 
unbribed  minority  was  noticed  clutching  in  an 
insane  way  at  imaginary  insects  on  the  wall  and 
on  the  desks  of  the  house  of  assembly.  His 
queer  antics  and  unsuccessful  grabbings  after 
nothing  naturally  attracted  attention,  and  when 
asked  by  his  brotherly  legislators,  who  thought 
he  might  be  seeing  reptiles  rather  than  insects, 
what  he  was  doing,  he  replied  that  he  was  "only 
trying  to  catch  t  spider."  Whenever  the  pre- 
senter of  the  "spiders  "appears  upon  the  streets 
to-day,  he  is  greeted  by  the  malicious  small  boy 
with  cries  of  "  Spider  I "  "  Spider  1 "  "  How  much 
are  American  spiders?" 

Those  who  think  they  know,  say  that  even 


iif«!^gasj?^fgj^.t' 


Pretoria, 
ea  to  the 
!an  spider, 
nd  weaves 
I  r- wheeled 
rted  from 
th  Africa, 

»ggy- 

>  burghers 
wer  house 
ich  greatly 
eupon  the 
lis  door  a 
ing  in  its 

)ne  of  the 
hing  in  an 
e  wall  and 
ibly.  His 
)ings  after 
,  and  when 
10  thought 
an  insects, 
was  "only 
er  the  pre- 
the  streets 
8inall  boy 
How  much 

that  even 


The  Two  Republics  239 

♦jhe  gray  and  grizzled  president  hiniself  has 
Uiidu  from  grace  ;  that,  devoutly  religious  as  he 
uiKl.)ubtedly  was  a  score  of  years  ago  and  as  he 
now  is  in  all  outward  forms  and  ceremonies,  he 
IS  not  above  allowing  a  gift  to  influence  his  de- 
cision, and  that  through  thus  spoiling  the  Ilgyp- 
tians  in  various  ways  be  has  become  enormously 
wealthy. 

However  tliat  may  be,  it  is  no  doubt  true  that 
up  to  the  time  of  the  foolish  and  iuexcusablo 
Jameson  raid,  the  Uitlanders  had  the  griev- 
ances largely  on  their  side.  But  this  disastrous 
raid  utterly  turned  the  balances  the  other  way 
until  the  Uitlanders'  side  kicked  the  beam. 

At  once  public  opinion,  justice,  and  the  bal- 
ance of  righteousness  shifted  to  the  other  side ; 
and  the  Uitlanders  and  their  cause  received  a 
blow  from  one  of  their  own  number  from  which 
they  will  not  for  years  recover. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  Johannes- 
burg is  not  the  South  African  Republic,  and 
that  the  bone  and  sinew  of  this  republic  is 
made  up  of  sturdy,  rough.  God-fearing,  unpro- 
gressive,  Biblp  loving,  behind-the-times  burgh- 
ers; good  stoc.  in  spite  of  their  unprogressive 
niediaevalism,  to  found  an  empire  upon.  This 
element  gives  strength  and  stability  to  the  little 
republic;  this  element  it  is  which  President 
Kruger  understands  so  well  and  interprets  so 
accurately.    His  burghers  believe  in  his  sturdy, 


i 


m^ 


240 


Fellow  Travellers 


!•' 


I 


•  1 


rugged,  God-fearing,  if  somewhat  warped  and 
twisted,  character,  and  he  trusts  and  builds  his 
republic  on  his  burghers. 

These  are  the  people,  far  off  upon  the  remote 
farms  and  not  in  the  crowded  slums  of  Johannes- 
burg, that  England  or  any  other  power  would 
have  to  reckon  with  in  subduing  the  South 
African  Republic. 

These  are  the  kind  of  people  who  largely 
make  up  the  sister  republic  of  the  Orange  Free 
State.  Happily  for  the  Free  State  Boers,  gold 
has  never  been  found  in  large  paying  quantities 
within  their  borders.  They  have,  to  be  sure,  a 
few  diamond  fields  within  their  territory ;  but 
the  centre  of  the  diamond  interest  is  still  in 
Kimberley,  within  the  limits  of  the  Colony  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

The  Orange  Free  State  is  one  of  those  happy 
lands  without  a  history — at  least  without  a  his- 
tory tarnished  with  blood  or  stained  by  rapacity 
or  greed.  Its  people,  rough,  vigorous,  virile, 
though  few  in  numbers,  are  strong  in  the  prim- 
itive virtues  of  an  unspoiled  race.  Its  capital 
and  largest  city,  Bloerafontein,  in  a  village  of 
five  or  six  thousand  inhabitants. 

I  had  a  pleasant  call  upon  President  Steyn, 
its  chief  executive,  who  struck  me  as  a  stalwart, 
honest,  earnest  man  desirous  of  doing  his  best 
and  utmost  for  his  little  republic.  Unlike 
President  Kruger,  he  is  a  man  of  education  and 


"'''•^^■.'S!:*'t-S3f*"^-.SO^*.^" 


The  Two  Republics  241 

refinement,  and  would  grace  any  presidential 
chair. 

I  saw  also  the  opening  of  the  Raad,  the  leg- 
islative assembly  of  the  Orange  Free  State.  It 
is  a  congress  of  giants,  a  parliament  of  stal- 
warts. All  of  its  twoscore  members  average, 
I  am  told,  over  six  feet  in  height.  They  are 
broad  in  proportion  and  "bearded  like  the 
pard." 

A  most  impressive  sight  it  was  to  see  these 
splendid  specimens  of  physical  vigor  file  in  and 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  for  their  new  lerra 
of  service.  Not  a  puny  one  among  them  ;  not 
a  weakling  or  a  human  hothouse  plant;  a 
senate  of  farmers  it  is,  with  generations  of 
sturdy  Dutch  blood  in  its  veins.  These  are  the 
representatives  of  the  people  that  make  South 
Africa  a  factor  in  the  family  of  nations. 

The  English-speaking  residents  of  South 
Africa  are  more  progressive,  more  wide-awake, 
as  a  class  more  intelligent,  but  they  have  not 
made  South  Africa  their  own  as  have  the  Dutch 
Boers. 

Said  a  wise  and  representative  Dutch  minis- 
ter of  Cape  Colony  to  me : 

"  South  Africa  is  our  home.  We  have  never 
known  any  other.  We  do  not  want  any  other. 
Our  supreme  allegiance  is  not  to  Great  Britain  ; 
least  of  all  is  it  to  Holland;  it  is  to  South 
Africa.    Here,  in  the  Cape,  we  are  willing  to 


spk'SSif"'] 


■Hi 


242 


Fellow  Travellers 


live  for  the  present  under  the  dominion  cf 
Great  Britain,  but  we  do  not  believe  it  will 
last  forever.     We  want  to  found  a  nation  of 
our  own.    The   English  who  come  here  are 
"always  thinking  and  talking  of  ♦  going  home.' 
South  Africa  is  not  their  home,  and  they  never 
regard  it  as  such.    As  soon  as  one  of  them 
makes  a  little  money  he  hurries  off  to  England 
to  spend  it.    The  thousands  of  emigrants  who 
are  always  coming  to  the  Cape  come  not  to 
found  a  home,  but  to  make  all  they  can  out 
of  the  country  that  they  may  spend  it  some- 
where else.    South  Africa  is  owned  by  absentees. 
Even  the  poor  people  who  will  never  scrape  to- 
gether shillings  enough  to  pay  for  a  steerage 
passage  to  Europe  are  nevertheless  always  talk- 
ing about  'going  home,'  and  the  colored  people 
with  a  little  English  blood  in  their  veins,  when 
they  wish  to  put  on  airs  talk  about  'home.' 
With  us  Boers  it  is  different.    This  is  our 
home.     We  are  Africanders.    Here  our  fathers 
lived  and  our  grandfathers.    Here  we  were  born 
and  here  we  expect  to  die." 

The  English  are  superb  colonizers.  More 
than  any  other  nation  they  make  the  solitary 
places  joyful  and  the  desert  to  blossom  as  the 
rose.  No  other  race  can  approach  them  in 
colonizing  and  in  governing  ability.  In  India 
and  Egypt,  in  Hong  Kong  and  the  Straits  they 
have  brought  order  out  of  chaos,  and  in  Aus- 


*im'^^'^j»i^i*Mi^i.'&kiifiimi)u»-M^ 


The  Two  Republics  243 

tialia  and  New  Zealand  the)'  have  found  and 
peopled  new  continents.  This  is  their  one 
amiable  weakness  as  colonizers— they  never 
get  weaned,  even  in  the  third  and  fourth  gen- 
emtion,  from  the  old  home.  Admirablo  as  is 
this  power  of  Britain  to  claim  the  allegiance  of 
all  her  children  even  though  they  wander  to 
the.  antipodes,  the  very  affection  which  they 
bear  to  the  mother  country  carries  with  it  this 
element  of  weakness  when  they  are  brought  in 
contact  with  a  homespun  and  a  home-bred  race 
like  the  Boers. 

If  a  war  should  arise— which  may  Heaven 
forbid !— the  Boers  would  be  fighting  for  home 
and  country,  the  English  for  domination  and 
conquest.  But  war,  in  my  opinion,  at  present 
is  very  unlikely.  Great- Britain  is  too  power- 
ful and  President  Kruger  is  too  shrewd.  The 
Dutch  republics  would  have  little  to  gain  and 
much  to  lose  by  a  war  which  might  result  in 
complete  independence,  but  in  all  probability 
would  result  in  making  all  South  Africa  a 
British  colony. 

For  the  present  doubtless  the  status  quo  will 
be  maintained,  and  the  two  little  republics  of 
Dutch  farmers  in  central  South  Africa  will 
complete  the  century  as  independent  States 
under  "  the  sphere  of  British  influence." 

But  what  changes  the  new  century  will  bring 
to  the  map  of  South  Africa,  who  can  tell  ? 


^**«filH» 


f  ^»  's.^^fcs  ■; 


ir 


*^.  '     ^  ajc^-ic^iT 


XXXIX 


A  CALL  ON  "OOM  PAUL 


ff 


Premdent  Kruger  at  Home 

Such  an  interesting  personality  has  the 
President  of  the  South  African  Republic  that 
the  story  of  an  interesting  call  upon  him  is 
worth  recording. 

Was  it  ever  seen  since  the  world  began  that 
the  eyes  of  the  civilized  nations  were  fixed  on 
an  old  Dutch  Boer  in  the  heart  of  South  Africa, 
an  old  man  who  can  scarcely  read  or  write,  yet 
has  the  power  by  native  wit  and  shrewdness, 
and  a  rare  conjunction  of  circumstances,  to 
dictate  his  own  terms  to  the  mightiest  empire 
in  the  world,  and  perhaps  to  set  by  the  ears  the 
nations  that  represent  the  highest  civilization  in 
the  world? 

Yet  this  is  the  position  held  by  that  much 
bepraised  and  much  bespattered  man,  President 
Kruger  of  the  South  African  Republic. 

Christian  Endeavor  meetings  called  me  to 
Pretoria,  the  capital  of  his  republic,  for  two 
days,  and  during  those  days  I  saw  the  old 
president  three  times.  Since  he  will  be  a 
marked   character  in  the  history  of  the  last 

84: 


':^Zi-''.  v,3i5Cn;,-:r  Kf-^Ea-sesasKWEn 


«&iui)t£uir%r&rMse!:^,'i 


A  Call  on  "Oom  Paul" 


245 


two  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century,  what- 
ever the  outcome  of  the  present  troubles  may 
be,  the  impressions  left  by  these  glimpses  of  the 
old  Boer  president  are  worth  recording. 

The  fii-st  time  I  saw  him  he  was  returning 
from  the  outskirts  of  the  town  in  his  carriage, 
and  the  only  impression  I  received  was  of  royal 
display  that  scarcely  comported  with  repub- 
lican simplicity.  Before  him  galloped  half  a 
dozen  armed  troopers,  and  behind  him  as  many 
more  bearing  the  colors  of  the  republic,  while 
out  of  the  carriage-window  beamed  the  face  of 
an  old  man.  A  passing  glance  would  lead  one 
to  think  that  he  was  the  last  man  to  hold  the 
destiny  of  a  considerable  section  of  the  earth's 
surface  in  his  hands.  If  the  president  of  the 
United  States  should  put  on  such  style  as  "  Oom 
Paul "  displays  in  his  daily  drives,  he  would  be 
laughed  at  as  a  snob  and  an  aristocrat;  but 
then,  the  president  of  the  Transvaal  may  claim, 
with  some  show  of  reason,  that  since  the  Jame- 
son raid  a  body-guard  is  no  mere  ornamental 
appendage. 

My  next  view  of  this  historic  old  man  was  at 
closer  quarters.  He  was  going  to  his  executive 
office  in  the  Volksraad,  or  State  House  of  the 
Transvaal.  The  inevitable  troopers  galloped 
before,  grounded  arms,  and  saluted  as  the  old 
president  alighted  from  his  carriage,  and  made 
his  way  with  bent  back,  but  strong  and  sturdy 


i/.^-ck 


M 


^^ 


24^) 


Fellow  Travellers 


steps,  tip  the  Bteps  and  along  the  passage  to  his 

f)ftice. 

Should  you  meet  him  in  Cabbagelown,  Eng- 
land, or  in  Wayback,  U.  S.  A.,  you  would  say : 
"  There  is  a  good,  common-sense  farmer.  lie 
is  probably  a  deacon  in  the  orthodox  church ; 
and,  when  work  on  the  farm  is  slack,  he  is  not 
above  sitting  on  a  cracker-box  and  discussing 
turnips  with  the  other  magnates  of  the  village 

store." 

But  such  a  man  must  be  judged  at  home. 
He  d(!es  not  shine  on  dress  parade,  or  in  circles 
whf.ro  you  expect  pomp  and  circumstance  and 
court  etiquette,  it  must  be  confessed.  In  both 
Uk  merican  and  the  English  senses  of  the 
word,  he  is  a  "  homely  "  man,  and  I  was  for- 
tunate enough  to  have  a  chat  with  him  under 
bin  own  vine  and  fig-tree. 

Armed  with  no  letters  of  intniduotion,  which 
in  the  circumstances  would  have  been  quite 
superfluous,  I  went  under  the  convoy  of  Pastor 
Bosman,  one  of  the  worthy  and  learned  Dutch 
Reformed  ministers  of  Pretoria. 

Imagine  a  low,  one-story,  gable  roofed  cottage, 
embowered  in  trees  and  vines,  and  standing 
close  to  one  of  the  principal  streets  of  a  rather 
straggling  and  unkempt  village :  and  you  will 
picture  to  yourself  the  abode  of  one  of  the  most 
famous  men  of  modern  times.  It  looks  like 
anything  but  the  abode  of  royalty,  or  even  of 


A  Call  on  "Oom  Paul" 


247 


a  high  rei)ublican  dignitary;  and,  if  it  were 
not  for  the  two  sohliers  before  the  door,  you 
woukl  .uppose  that  you  were  entering  tho 
lioino  of  one  of  earth's  toilers ;  say  an  engineer 
on  a  railway  or  a  country  parson. 

Before  the  door  are  the  famous  marble  lions 
presented  by  Barney  Barnato,  the  great  South 
African  speculator.  From  the  artistic  point  of 
view  they  will  not  detiin  us  long  from  the 
genuine  lion  of  South  Africa,  who  sits  there  in 
all  d  luocratic  simplicity  in  a  wicker  chair  upon 
his  front  porch,  smoking  a  long  briarwood  pipe. 
If  President  Kruger  seems  to  put  on  rather 
an  undu(!  amount  of  royal  style  and  dignity 
when  on  the  street,  it  cannot  be  said  that  he 
carries  it  too  far  when  lie  passes  his  own  front 
gate.  Nothing  could  be  more  simjjle  or  more 
primitively  democratic.  No  cards  are  required, 
no  liverieil  flunky  receives  you,  no  etiquette  or 
formality  bars  the  way.  You  simply  walk  past 
the  guards,  step  up  on  the  veranda,  stretch  out 
your  hand,  and  say,  "  How  do  you  do,  Mr. 
President?"  If  you  can  say  it  in  Dutch,  so 
much  the  better,  for  President  Kruger  speaks 
no  other  tongue. 

As  y^u  take  his  cordially  outstretched  hand, 
you  see  that  he  is  by  no  means  an  impressive- 
looking  man.  An  old  man  of  fully  threescore 
and  fifteen,  if  we  may  judge  by  his  looks,  what- 
ever the  family  Bible  says,  in  a  blue  suit  some- 


"■«•»■•-  :;3rr)ps>«B«siESSS  -  ~^ 


mmtd 


248 


Fellow  Travellers 


V'. 


what  tl.e  worse  for  tie  wear, and  an  antiqnated 
beaver  l.at,-in  which  he  mnst  do  evor>  thu.g 
but  Bleep,  for  he  always  appears  in  it,— stands 
before  you.     Under  his  chin  and  around  his  ca- 
pacious neck  is  a  fringe  of  white  whiskers,  such 
as  the  irreverent  small  boy  in  America  would 
call  "galways."    A  stubby  length  of  beard  of 
four  days'  growth  does  not  adorn  his  face,  and 
his  good-natured  blue  eyes  twinkle  ovc    ^n  un- 
deniably  bulbous  nose. 

My  kind  friend,  Pastor  Bosman,  introduced 
me  as  "  Dr.  Clark,  from  America." 

"  Ah,"  said  the  president  in  Dutch,  "  are  you 
one  of  those  Americans  who  always  run  to  the 
Queen  when  you  get  into  trouble?" 

To  show  me  at  the  same  time  that  he  was 
not  very  serious,  he  turned  around  with  a 
chuckle,  and  before  I  could  answer  him  through 
my  interpreter,  gave  me  a  hearty  slap  on  the 

shoulder. 

When  Mr.  Bosman  told  him  of  my  life-work, 
and  that  my  present  visit  to  Pretoria  was  iu 
connection  with  the  Christian  Endeavor  move- 
ment, he  replied :  -  Ah,  that  is  good.  I  love  all 
those  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Wheri 
we  love  Christ,  there  is  a  link  that  binds  us  all 

together." 

Then  I  told  him  that  in  America,  too,  we  re- 
joiced in  having  a  Christian  president,  that  we 
had  often  been  thus  favored,  and  that  ex-Presi- 


A  Call  on  "Oom  Paul" 


249 


.iqnated 
irytliiiig 
— staiuU 
(1  hit)  ca- 
n's, such 
!a  would 
beard  of 
ace,  and 
,    An  un- 

troduced 

"  are  you 
Lin  to  the 

it  he  was 
I  with  a 
1  through 
ip  on  the 

life-work, 
ria  was  iu 
vor  move- 
I  love  all 
t.  When 
inds  us  all 

too,  we  re- 
it,  that  we 
,t  ex-Presi- 


dent Harrison's  cabinet  was  even  called  in 
pleasantry  "a  Presbyterian  cabinet,"  there 
were  so  many  Presbyterian  elders  in  it. 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  such  good  rulers,"  said 
the  old  man  ;  "  for  the  nation  that  fears  God 
and  obeys  him  is  the  only  prosperous  nation." 

Remembering  that  Prfsident  Kruger  was 
converted  under  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Lindley, 
one  of  the  pioui  cr  missionaries  of  the  American 
Jioard  to  Africa,  I  told  him  that  I  belonged  to 
the  same  church  in  America  as  did  Mr.  Lind 
ley. 

At  this  the  old  man's  eyes  glistened,  for  he 
loves  and  reverences  tlio  memory  of  his  spiritual 
father;  and  he  said  witli  genuine  warmth:  "Ah, 
he  was  a  good  man,  he  was  a  good  man.  He 
preached  Jesus  Christ.  We  all  need  Christ's 
strength  "  ;  and  again  he  repeated,  "  Those  of 
us  who  love  him  whatever  our  creed,  should 
love  one  another." 

A  young  Boei,  nnkempt  and  slouching,  and 
evidently  jnst  from  the  back  country,  was 
waiting  U  ntm  Com  (uncle)  Paul,  as  all  the 
Boers  affejtioir  -.ly  call  the  president  of  the 
Kepublij,  fad  i.  !ii  not  trespass  long  upon  his 
time. 

Wii'i  »  .'?m-diov  I  and-shakt)  he  hade  me  good- 
by,  I'hJ  i  *veiri  n  the  steps  between  Harney 
li<kii..»-A/o  .to  lions,  feeling  that,  however 
narrow   and   B)JN||Mide(l    the  preuidi^ut   of  the 


'/U.-yii::it^' 


m^ 


250, 


Fellow  Travellers 


South  African  Republic  may  be  ,n  many  .mat- 
ters of  public  policy,  he  m  a  sincere  Christian,  a 
Christian  of  the  severe,  Old  Testament  type, 
perhaps,  but  nevertheless  a  man  who  tnes  to  do 
his  duty. 


Is    V 


ristian,  a 
nt  type, 
ies  to  do 


XL 


IN  THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE 

Look  on  the  map  of  South  Africa,  my  fellow 
travellers,  and  journey  with  me,  if  you  will, 
from  Bloemfontein  across  the  border  of  the  Or- 
ange Free  State,  over  the  beautifully  diversified 
eastern  district  of  this  Cape  Colony  until  we 
come  to  the  seacoast  of  East  London,  and  then 
inland  again  until  we  come  to  the  old  town  of 
King  William. 

It  seems  like  a  mere  thumb-nail  distance  on 
the  map ;  a  fly  on  a  globe  could  step  across  it 
in  three  steps ;  yet  on  so  large  a  scale  are  things 
built  in  this  part  of  the  world  that  it  has  taken 
me  more  than  thirty-six  hours  continuous  rail- 
way travelling  to  cover  this  distance. 

The  Christian  Endeavor  meetings  in  Bloem- 
fontein, the  capital  of  the  Orange  Free  State, 
were  well  attended,  and,  I  hope,  of  profit. 
There  are  only  two  societies  in  that  little  capi- 
tal, one  in  the  Dutch  Reformed  church,  and  one 
in  the  Baptist  church ;  but  there  is  good  ma- 
terial for  a  round  half-dozen  if  all  the  churches 
take  up  the  work.  Rarely  have  I  found  myself 
in  a  more  delightful  Christian  home  than  in 

861 


'"»«%;»^!S»a75*«;; 


Kf-'nsw^«*5t*t?^'-' 


J 


252  Fellow  Travellers 

that  of  "his  worship,"  Mayor Sowden  of  Bloetn- 

fontein.  _    ^  ,      j 

Aa  in  many  other  towns  in  the  Transvaal  and 
the  Free  State,  some  of  the  Endeavo-ers  here 
sneak  Dutch  and  some  English. 

One  of  the  leading  Dutch  ministers  in  Jo- 
hannesburg gave  me  this  greeting,  which  I  will 
pass  on  to  you: — 

Johannesburg  zbndt  geoetbn, 

Onzk  God  zegbne  u  en  make  u 

Ten  zegen  vooe  de  wereld. 

Dutch  is  so  much  like  English  that  I  need 
not  translate  this  message,  except  to  tell  you 
that  "zegene"  is  the  verb  "to  bless,  and 
"zegen,"  the  noun  "blessing." 

In  Johannesburg,  too,  at  the  close  of  one  of 
our  Endeavor  meetings,  we  sung  the  doxology, 
as  becomes  an  interdenominational  and  inter- 
national  society,  in  .  /o  languages,  some  sing- 
ing in  Dutch  and  some  in  English.  Yet  this  is 
the  city  that  some  people  do  not  consider  it  safe 
to  visit  in  these  days,  from  which  come  wars 
and  rumors  of  wars  between  the   Dutch  and 

English. 

Surely  Christian  Endeavor  in  such  meetings 
may  have  this  blessed  privilege  of  bringing  di- 
verse and  even  hostile  races  together  when  both 
love  the  same  Lord. 

I  did  not  have  long  to  stay  in  this  peaceful 


iMMiallMMMtileKiMK* 


,mi   ijMifoauinwm 


f  Bloem- 

vaal  and 
ers  here 

rs  in  Jo- 
ch  I  will 


SN, 
B  IT 

at  I  need 
I  tell  )'0U 

ess,' 


and 


of  one  of 
doxology, 
ind  inter- 
ome  sing- 
Sfet  this  is 
ider  it  safe 
some  wars 
)utch  and 

ti  meetings 
ringing  di- 
when  both 

lis  peaceful 


L 


•■■^r 

.  /.'  ■, 

^Hi&^ 

^ 

m.      m 

^  -€ 

H    ^ 

M    . 

• '  '''■S'  ■■ 

^■■■k               ^t 

\  Vv  -.■. 

^^^K 

..■i'.s  .• 

'.'■■  'vV.' 

-1 

o 
o 

u 
o 

(7) 
t/5 


<; 

-) 
O 

< 

as 
U 

>• 
< 

< 

0^ 


I  I  - 


iij: 


1^ 


,  ,■*  .~'  ^i*-'*»-*^:*  - 


■  In  the  Orange  Free  State         253 

little  republic,  but  hurried  on  to  Cape  Colony. 
Before  crossing  the  border  I  had  to  be  very 
thoroughly  disinfected,  lest  I  should  bring  with 
uie  the  dreaded  rinderpest,  which  has  swept  off 
the  cattle  of  the  Transvaal.  First  I  was  fumi- 
gated ;  then  my  boots  were  soaked  in  diluted 
carbolic  acid,  and  my  clothes  were  brushed  off 
with  the  same  ;  and  then  all  my  belongings, 
down  to  a  trunk-strap  and  umbrella,  were  fumi- 
gated for  half  an  hour;  and  after  that  I  was 
allowed  to  cross  the  border.  So  you  see  that 
travelling  in  South  Africa  in  this  year  of  war 
and  locusts  and  rinderpest  has  its  peculiarities, 
to  say  the  least. 

Two  very  pleasant  days  I  spent  in  East  Lon- 
don in  the  Old  Colony,  i.  e.,  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  How  familiar  "  the  Old  Colony  "  sounds 
in  Massaciiusetts  ears! 

East  London,  beautiful  for  situation,  must 
be  considered  one  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
centres  in  South  Africa,  since  it  has  three  so- 
cieties, two  Presbyterian  and  one  Baptist,  with 
u  good  prospect  of  two  cir  three  more  Juniors 
bef(tre  long.  Tint  inuotiiigH  witro  well  altc/ided, 
and  there  was  nmregonuine  Christian  Endeavor 
enthusiasm  tlian  I  have  always  seen.  But 
everywhere  in  this  continent  it  is  the  day  of 
very  small  things  CluiHtiaii  E;idoavor-wise,  a/id 
the  few  here  who  are  inl«reB»ed  have  to  remind 
themselves,    "God  hath  wiouglit  large  tim.'gs 


f\ 


254  Fellow  Travellers 

through  Christma  Endeavor  in  other  lands; 
vhy  not  in  Africa?"  Is  South  A fnca  an  ex- 
fJnn  to  every  other  land,  and  the  only 
Tu  ;To  wMch  Christian  Endeavor  is  un- 
fit" d^^  I  cannot  believe  it.  and,  though  these 
!  Ihe  days  in  .any  places  "o^  -en  of^eed^ 
sowing,  but  of  laborious  sod-breaking,  I  believe 
the  harvest  will  come. 


f-  ** 


lands ; 
a  an  ex- 
he  only 
r  is  un- 
gh  these 

of  seed- 
1  believe 


XLI 

HOW  BISHOP  TAYLOR  BEAD  THE  BIBLE 
A  Memory  of  Family  WorMp  At  Lovedate,  South  Africa 

As  I  have  before  said,  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting places  in  all  South  Africa  is  Lovedale,  in 
the  colony  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Far 
from  a  railway,  it  must  be  reached  by  a  bone- 
racking,  seven  hours'  jolt  in  a  post  carfr.  But 
it  is  well  worth  the  journey,  were  it  ten  times 
as  long  and  hard ;  for  here  in  the  heart  of  South 
Africa  is  an  institution  which  fulfils  all  one's 
ideals  of  what  a  Christian  mission  school  should 
be,  a  school  which  does,  not  forget  that  it  is 
Christian  because  it  is  scholarly. 

Substantial  building,  modern  appliances, 
wide-awake  teachers,  and  a  constituency  of 
pupils  drawn  from  almost  every  part  of  Africa, 
make  it  attractive.  Kaffirs,  Fingoes,  Bechu- 
anas,  Basutos,  Zulus,  West  Coast  Africans, 
dwellers  in  the  Congo,  and  I  do  not  know  how 
many  other  tribes  here  send  their  boys,  the 
picked  youth  of  Africa.  Most  of  them  under- 
stand either  Kaffir  or  Sesuto,  as  the  language  of 
the  Basutos  is  called. 

Of  course  Lovedale  has  its  leading  spirit,  as 
every  such  place  must  have,  some  one  whom 

365 


Si 


T 


256 


Fellow  Travellers 


God  has  raised  up  to  "^^^^^ /*  ^^.f  ^^^ J"  -/" 
this  case,  as  every  one  in  Africa  ^»";  admit,  it  is 
Dr  James  Stewart,  of  the  Free  Church  Mis- 
Bion,  who,  more  than  a  generation  ago  came  0 
Lovedale,  here  to  embody  his  ideas  of  a  Ch.is- 

tian  education.  ^v  a  #•/»«" 

"  There  are  three  great  men  in  South  Africa, 
said  one  of  his  enthusiastic  admirers  to  me  one 
d'y  -sir  Cecil  Rhodes.  President  Paul  Kruger. 
3'  Dr.  James  Stewart."  and,  if  fr.  Stewart  s 
fellow  teachers  and  pupils  could  decide  the 
matter.  Dr.  Stewart's  name,  like  Abou  Ben 
Adhem's.  would  lead  all  the  rest. 

But  it  is  not  altogether  of  Dr.  Stewart  that  I 
would  write  in  this  article,  but  of  still  another 
remarkable  man  who  has  done  much  to  make 
the  Dark  Continent  brighter.    I  had  been  cor^ 
dially  invited  by  Dr.  Stewart  to  speak  to  the 
hundreds  of    pupils  of    lovedale   concerning 
Christian  Endeavor  and  its  possibilities  of  serv- 
ice for  the  young, and  at  the  same  time  to  make 
hTs  hospitable  home  my  own.    Whom  should  I 
find  already  domiciled  as  a  guest  in  tha,t  home 
but  the  venerable  Bishop  William  Taylor  the 
evangelist  of  four  continents,  whose  name,  how- 
ever, will  ever  be  indissolubly  linked  with  the 
last  continent  to  which  he  has  given  his  man- 
hood's strength  and  his  declining  days  ? 

A  most  venerable  figure  is  Bishop  Taylor, 
with  a  long,  gray  beard  sweeping  a  stalwart 


I 


,  is.     :o 
mit,  it  is 
rch  Mis- 
came  to 
a  Chris- 
Africa," 

0  ine  one 

1  Kruger, 
Stewart's 
icide  the 
bou  Ben 

art  that  I 
11  another 
L  to  make 
been  cor- 
ak  to  the 
oucerning 
es  of  serv- 
le  to  make 
n  should  I 
that  home 
raylor,  the 
name,  how- 
sd  with  the 
jn  his  man- 
jrs? 

op  Taylor, 
a  stalwart 


Hf  w  Taylor  Read  the  Bible       257 

chest,  a  smile  that  is  sweet  and  benignunt,  and 
a  step  that,  when  occasion  requires,  is  still  brisk 
and  sprightly. 

One  of  the  most  vivid  scenes,  photographed 
on  my  memory,  of  three  memorable  days  at 
Lovedale,  was  of  family  prayers  on  the  morn- 
ing when  Bishop  Taylor  was  asked  to  lead. 

There  sat  the  venerable  bishop  with  the  big 
Bible  open  on  his  knee.  Near  by  sat  Dr.  Stew- 
art, the  companion  and  friend  of  Livingstone 
and  Moffat  and  Drummond  and  almost  every 
other  man  who  has  come  to  shed  light  on  dark- 
est Africa.  In  other  parts  of  the  large  room 
sat  Mrs.  Stewart  and  five  of  her  seven  charm- 
ing daughters,  the  mother,  if  she  will  allow  me 
to  say  so,  looking  almost  as  young  and  quite  as 
charming  as  any  of  them.  In  a  row  together 
sat  the  four  or  five  Kaffir  servants  of  the  es- 
tablishment, representatives  of  the  dark  tribes 
to  whom  both  Dr.  Stewait  and  BishopTaylor 
have  devoted  their  lives. 

The  bishop  is  troubled  with  bronchitis,  which 
has  affected  his  voice  not  a  little  (only  tempo- 
rarily, let  us  hope),  and  he  speaks,  perhaps  to 
save  breath,  in  a  peculiarly  abrupt,  not  to  say 
jerky,  way,  often  omitting  his  pronouns  and 
articles,  and  chopping  off  his  racy  sentences  so 
that  they  shall  contain  no  superfluous  words. 
But  this  methitd  only  adds  a  new  piquancy  to 
his  commentary,  as  with  the  strong  common 


2-^-8 


Fellow  Travellers 


Bense  and  picturesque  imagery  which  mad.  him 
o  popuJamong  the '49ers  of  Ca Ufonna  he 
Spanish  Americans  of  South  America,  and  the 
SL^rs  of  Australia  as  well  as  among  the 
dwellers  on  the  Congo  and  the  Zambezi  u.  later 
years,  he  opens  up  the  Scriptures 

Literally    "opens   up.       I   have   »>eara 
phrase  used  many  times,  but  I  ^-e  seldom   < 
Lly  understood  its  meaning.    It  was  as  if  the 
g"ood  bishop  pulled  off  cover  after  co-Jr- 
caskets  containing  the  jewels  of  G^d  s  word 
and  showed  us  the  heaps  of  gems  beneath.    1 
can  but  very  faintly  reproduce  that  exposition; 
L  you  must  be  in  Lovedale  in  the  midst  of  the 
sTewart  family,  and  hear  the   good   bishops 
tol!  to  understand  it  fully;  but  let  me  do  as 

^ThTpaTage  he  chose  was  the  familiar  one 

hundred  and  third  Psalm. 

"a  man,  on.  fine  da,,  had  a  talk  w.th  h.m- 
self"   began  the  bishop  in  his  abrupt  way. 
«Had  a  conversation  «ith  himself.    Here  ,, 
.rathe  said.    'Bless  the  Lord.'     Heeountsi.p 
le  ben'X-flve  thing,  the  Lord  has  g.ven 
Wm,  fir^t,  pardon,. forgiveth  all  thine  .n,qm- 
t^  • ,  seeJd,  health.  •  healeth  all  thy  d.se..e»  •. 
Mrd  redemption,  'redeemeth  'by  .fe.=  'o      b 
mercies, -crowneth  the.  wth  cm  ;«'*■»"» 
faction,  'satisfielh  thy  mouth'  even;  then  ot 
rurse  tby  «.ul.    Give,  thee  youth  in  old  age. 


How  Taylor  Read  the  Bible      i^i) 


mado  liim 
oiuia,  the 
J,  and  the 
imong  the 
•zi  ill  later 

leard  that 
seldom  so 
18  as  if  the 
cover  from 
od's  word, 
)eneath.    I 
exposition ; 
nidst  of  the 
)d   bishop's 
et  me  do  as 

iamiliar  one 

ik  with  him- 
ibrupt   way. 
If.     Here  is 
He  counts  up 
•d  has  given 
thine  iniqui- 
hy  diseases ' ; 
life';  fourth, 
' ;  fifth,  satis- 
iren;  then  of 
th  in  old  age. 


Juat  what  we  oM  men  want.  Youth  like  the 
eagle's,  too,  soaring,  aspiring,  glorious  youth." 

♦  ♦•**♦ 

Thus  the  exposition  went  on,  something  fresh, 
quaint,  or  piquant  about  each  verse.  The  ninth 
verse  is  reached.  "  He  will  not  always  chide  ; 
neither  will  he  keep  his  anger  forever." 

"'Look  here,  my  soul,'  David  says,  'you  need 
chiding.'  The  Lord  knows  he  did,  too !  'But 
God  will  not  nag  you.  He  will  not  scold, 
much  as  you  deserve  it.  He  treats  you  a  great 
sight  better  than  you  deserve.'  '  He  hath  not 
dealt  with  us  after  our  sins.' 

"  And  now  he  tells  us  how  much  God  loves 
us.  First,  the  perpendicular  measurement,  *  as 
the  heaven  is  high  above  the  earth ' ;  second, 
the  horizontal  measurement,  'as  far  as  the  east 
is  from  the  west ' ;  third,  the  affectionate  meas- 
urement, 'like  as  a  fathar  pitieth  his  children  '; 
fourth,  the  measurement  of  tare  and  tret.  Ho 
makes  allowances.  He  knows  how  earthy  and 
dusty  we  are.  '  He  remembereth  that  we  are 
dust.' 

"  Then  David  reminds  himself  how  little  and 
frail  he  is.  Grass.  Flowers.  The  red  poppy 
in  the  field.  Swish  goes  the  scythe.  Where  is 
it?  Even  if  there  is  no  scythe,  a  breath  of 
wind  comes,  and  the  poppy  is  gone.  So  man's 
life.  '  But,  O  soul,'  says  David, '  if  your  earthly 
life  is  short,  your  real  life  stretches  between  two 


t 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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Sciences 
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23  WiST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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Hiotographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


SEWSff^-KSW!-!!!^ 


26o 


Fellow  Travellers 


everlastings.  God'a  mercy  is  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting.*  How  far  is  it  between  two 
everlastings?  When  you  can  find  out,  you 
know  how  long  your  real  life  and  how  wide 
God's  mercy  is. 

"  No  wonder  it  takes  angels  and  ministers  and 
all  his  works  in  all  places  to  bless  the  Lord  for 
such  mercy.  Ends  as  he  begun.  Beautiful 
frame  all  around  picture.  *  Bless  the  Lord,  O 
nay  soul.'  '•* 

"Let  us  pray."  f'     -    •  ;^ 

After  a  fervent  prayer  we  rose  from  our 
knees  and  went  our  several  ways,  the  one  to 
his  classroom,  another  to  his  books,  another  to 
her  housework,  but  all  better  fitted  for  our 
duties  because  of  this  refreshing  morning 
draught  at  the  fountain  of  God's  mercy. 

I  will  not  promise  that  I  have  quoted  accu- 
rately every  word  and  turn  of  thought  of  the 
good  bishop,  for  it  was  some  weeks  afterward, 
on  the  long  voyage  through  tropic  seas  from 
Cape  Town  to  Southampton,  when  I  first  had 
opportunity  to  write  out  my  scanty  notes.     But 
i  feel  confident  that  in  some  measure  I  have 
caught  the  spirit  of  that  hour  of  morning  wor- 
ship  in  Lovedale,  and  to  a  large  extent  have  re- 
membered   the  bishop's  phrases,   for  his  are 
winged  arrows  that  stick.    As  they  take  flight 
once  more  in  these  columns,  may  they  again 
find  their  mark.  -     • 


verlasting 

reen  two 

out,  you 

liow  wide 

listers  and 

J  Lord  for 

Beautiful 

le  Lord,  O 


from  our 
)he  onu  to 
another  to 
d  for  our 
morning 
•cy. 

loted  accu- 

ght  of  the 

afterward, 

seas  from 

I  first  had 

lotes.    But 

ure  I  have 

irning  wor- 

int  have  re- 

br  his  are 

take  flight 

they  again 


XLII 

THB  world's  6RXAT  DIAMOND  VAULT 

"    One  of  the  most  unique  places  on  the  earth 
is  Kimberley,  in  South  Africa.     There  is  situ- 
ated the  world's  great  diamond  vault.     The 
exciting  thing  about  the  vault  is  the  uncertainty 
of  its  contents.    No  one  knows  how  deep  it  may 
be,  or  how  many  hundreds  of  millions'  worth 
of  diamonds  it  may  contain.    Its  length  and 
width,  however,  have  been   pretty  accural  'y 
determined;  and  twenty-five  years  of  caretul 
prospecting  have  proved  with  some  degree  of 
certainty  that  no  other  such  great  vault  exists 
in  South  Africa,  and  probably  in  no  other  part 
of   the   world.     The  diamonds  of   India  and 
Brazil  have  paled  their  ineffectual  fires  before 
the  blink  Klippe  (bright  eyes)  as  the  Dutch 
Boers  call  them,  of  Kimberley.     It  was  in  the 
year  1867  that  the  first  "bright  eye  "  was  found 
on  a  table  in  Schalk  Van  Niekerk's  farmhouse, 
in  the  Hopetown  district  of  South  Africa,  south 
of  the  Orange  River.     The  man  who  made  the 
discovery  bore  the  unrom?\ntic  name  of  O'Reilly, 
proclaiming  in  his  very  patronymic  that  a  son 
of  the  Emerald  Isle  had  found  a  stone  more 
precious  than  emeralds.     I  have  said  he  found 

961  -:!■ 


?im^QiAi^&m..r 


262 


Fellow  Travellers 


it  on  the  farmhouse  table,  but  the  children  cf 
the  house  had  previously  found  it  in  the  dry 
river-bed,  and  had  brought  it  with  other  "pretty 
stones  "  to  the  farm,  when  fortunate  O'Reilly, 
trader  and  hunter,  saw  it.    This  find  naturally 
set  others  to  searching  for  blink  KUppei,  espe- 
cially when  it  became  known  that  a  competent 
authority  declared  Mr.  O'Reilly's  Bton«  worth 
$2,C0O  at  the  least.     Here  and   there    other 
"bright  eyes"  were  found.     Some    children 
picked  a  few  out  of  the  mud  wall  of  their 
father's  house.    The  mud  of  which  this  wall 
was  made  naturally  became  an  object  of  inter- 
est, and  more  diamonds  were  found  in  it.   Thus 
in  various  ways  interest  and  expectation  were 

kept  alive. 

A  native  witch-finder  proved  to  be  a  diamond- 
finder  as  well,  for  in  his  possession  was  discov- 
ered a  pure  brilliant  of  the  first  water,  weigh- 
ing eighty-three  and  one-half  cjirats,  and  sold 
afterward  to  the  Countess  of  Dudley  tor  £25,- 
000.  For  yeai;i  the  witch  doctor  had  used  the 
stone  as  a  charm,  and  perhaps  on  this  account 
the  possession  of  the  "Star  of  South  Africa" 
is  said  to  make  the  present  owner  more  charm- 
ing  and  bewitching  than  ever. 

Of  course  there  were  not  wanting  those  who 
"  pooh-poohed  "  the  whole  idea  of  diamonds  in 
Kimberley.  One  ot  these  sapient  individuals, 
a  geologist,  J.  R.  Gregory  by  name,  advanced 


lildien  cf 
I  the  dry 
r  '♦  pretty 
O'Reilly, 
naturally 
>pe8,  espe- 
iompetent 
»n«  worth 
are    other 
children 
i  of  their 
this  wall 
t  of  inter- 
lit.   Thus 
ktion  were 

I  diamond - 
ras  discov- 
ter,  weigh- 
i,  and  sold 
Y  ioT  £25,. 
,d  used  the 
lis  account 
ih  Africa" 
jore  eharni' 

those  who 
iiamonds  in 
individuals, 
i,  advanced 


The  Great  Diamond  Vault        263 

the   astounding   theory   that   these    diamonds 
were  brought  in  the  crops  of  ostriches  from 
some  far-off  and  unknown  land.     Moreover,  he 
proved  beyond  a  peradventure,  from  the  geo- 
logical character  of  the  district,  "  which  he  bad 
lately  and  very  carefully  examined,"  that  it  was 
impomble  that  diamondt  had  been  or  ever  could 
be  found  there.     And  yet  in  about  a  year  from 
the  publication  of  that  absolutely  convincing 
statement,  on  this  very  ground  the  greatest 
diamond  mines  which  the  world  has  ever  known 
were  discovered — mines  which  yield  every  year 
more  than  twenty  million  dollars'  worth  of  dia- 
monds.    This   brilliant  geologist  deserves  to 
rank  with  the  equally  brilliant  scientific  roan 
who  demonstrated  so  conclusively  that  a  ship 
driven  by  steam  could  never  cross  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  whose  treatise,  as  cruel  fate  would  have 
it,  was  carried  across  the  ocean  on  the  ^ery 
steamships  which  he  demonstrated  could  not  go. 
But  it  is  of  more  interest  to  know  how  the  dia- 
mond fields  look  to-day.     Imagine  one  of  the 
most  dreary  spots  on  the  earth's  surface,  as  it  is 
by  nature,  not  as  man  has  improved  it ;  an  im- 
mense, wind-swept  table  land,  more  than  four 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea-level,  parched  in 
summer  and  occasionally  drowned  out  in  winter, 
an  arid  desert  plain  fit  for  cactus  shrubs  and 
prickly-pears,  and  ostriches  and  goats  that  can 
digest  pebbles  anu  thorn -bushes ;  a  portion  of 


264 


Fellow  Travellers 


tl»e  earth's  surface  which  thirty  years  ago  the  ' 
boldest  prophet  would  ne^er  have  ventured  to 
predict  could  ever  suppori  a  hundred  white 
men  1  Here,  to-day,  you  find  a  thriving  city  of 
thirty  thousand  people,  stores  and  churches  and 
schools,  tennis-courts  and  football  fields,  cycle- 
tracks  and  clubhouses,  and  all  the  evidences, 
good,  bad  and  indifferent,  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion. 

The  first  thing  that  attracts  your  attention 
as  you  roll  into  Kimberley  on  the  rails  of  the 
very  moderate  aad  leisurely  Cape  Government 
railway,  are  the  tall  chimneys  and  shafts  and 
"  head-gear  "  for  hoisting  the  "  blue  "  diamond- 
iferous  soil  from   the   vasty  depths  beneath. 
But  such  machinery,  housed  in  ungainly  build- 
ings, is  common  to  all  mining  camps,  gold,  sil- 
ver, copper  or  diamond ;  and  the  first  real  pe- 
culiarity of  Kimberley  is  the  vast "  floors"  cov- 
ered with  a  grayish  blue  soil,  which  stretch  for 
miles  along  the  railway  line.    These  floors  are 
fields,  six  miles  in  extent,  on  which  have  been 
dumped    the    diamondiferous    ground.    Forty 
thousand  loads  a  week  are  laid  down  on  these 
floors,  each  load  averaging  one  carat  of  dia- 
monds, worth  almost  seven  dollars.     That  great 
field  is  a  veritable  Golconda.     In  that  unprom- 
ising-looking  dirt  are  tens  of    thousands    of 
sparkling  gems,  worth  millions  of  dollars — dia- 
monds \n  hite  and  lustrous,  diamonds  yellow  and 


I  ago  the 
itured  to 
ed  white 
iig  city  of 
rches  aud 
ds,  cycle- 
ividences, 
1  oiviliza- 

attention 
iilB  of  the 
)verninent 
shafts  and 
'  diamond- 
i  heneath. 
inly  build- 
B,  gold,  sil- 
rst  real  pe- 
loors"cov- 
stretch  for 
e  floors  are 
I  have  been 
ind.    Forty 
jra  on  these 
irat  of  dia- 
That  great 
lat  unprom- 
lousands    of 
loUara— dia- 
8  yellow  and 


The  Great  Diamond  Vault        265* 

orange,  and  perhaps  pink,  most  rare  and  valu- 
able of  all;  little  diamonds  aud  big  diamonds, 
some  of  them  worth  a  king's  ransom. 

Perhaps— who  knows?— the  biggest  and  most 
valuable  gem  the  world  has  ever  seen  is  glitter- 
ing under  that  dull  clod  yonder.  Then  why 
not  step  over  that  wire  fence  which  alone  keeps 
you  from  the  floors  and  help  yourself?  Not 
quite  so  fast,  my  friend !  It  is  altogether  im- 
probable that  you  would  find  anything  if  you 
did  step  over  into  the  floor ;  for  diamonds,  like 
some  valuable  and  precious  characters  that  I 
have  known^  keep  very  much  out  of  sight. 
The  diamonds  are  mostly  imbedded  in  that 
hard  soil  which  must  lie  for  weeks  in  the  open 
air  before  it  can  be  pulverized  and  washed.  A 
steam  harrow,  constantly  runnin,;  over  it,  has- 
tens the  process  of  disintegration ;  and  it  is  a 
long,  slow,  tedious  operation  to  get  the  jewels 
out;  for — again  to  moralize  for  a  moment — 
diamonds,  like  other  things  most  precious,  are 
not  to  be  had  for  the  asking. 

Moreover,  if  you  should  attempt  to  step  over 
that  wire  rope  more  than  one  pair  of  keen  eyes 
would  be  upon  you,  and  probably  more  than 
one  threatening  pistol-barrel  would  be  levelled 
at  your  offending  head.  If  by  any  chance  you 
should  find  a  diamond  by  the  roadside,  or 
should  have  one  given  you,  the  best  thing  you 
could  do  would  be  to  throw  it  away,  though  it  be 


^^^^^m^^^Mi^&i4i^f^i-»»^~' 


L    "1 


266 


Fellow  Travellers 


the  Kohinoor  itself;  f.»r  the  one  unpardonable 
Bin  iu  Kiinberley  is  to  have  a  rough  diamond 
in  your  possession  if  you  are  not  a  licensed  dm- 
mond-dealer.  Murder,  arson,  burglary,  assault, 
are  all  trivial  crimes  on  the  diamond  fields  com- 
pared  v^ith  the  one  sin  which  has  a  whole  set 
of  initials  all  to  itself-the  sin  of  "I.  D.  B, 
or,  to  speak  less  enigmatically.  Illicit  Diamond 

Buying.  ,        .      * 

So  we  will  not  step  across  the  wire  fence, 
but  go  on  to  that  great  building  where  the  soil 
is  washed  and  the  gravel  sorted.    We  produce 
the  indispensable  pass,  the  armed  sentry  lets  us 
within  the  building,  and  now  we  are  deafened 
by  the  din  of  machinery  that  takes  the  precious 
soil  into  its  capacious  cylinders,  and  disinte- 
grates it,  and  shakes  it  about,  and  washes  it, 
and   then  discharges  the   washed   gravel  dia- 
monds and  garnets  into  a  very  ingenious  ma- 
chine called  the  pulsa«or,  where,  by  a  constant 
throbbing,  pulsating  motion,  the  diamonds  and 
heavy  pebbles  are  shaken  to  the  bottom,  while 
the  light  stuff  which  contains  no  gems  floats 

off  on  the  top. 

In  the  bottom  of  the  pulsators  are  wire 
meshes  of  different  diameters,  which  sort  the 
pebbles  into  heaps  of  about  the  same  size.  But 
an  untechnical  writer  need  not  try  to  describe 
complicated  machinery  to  untechnical  readers. 
Let  us  hasten  on  to  the  most  interesting  room 


ardonable 
I  diamond 
ensed  din- 
'y,  assault, 
Belds  com- 
whole  set 
I.  D.B.," 
t  Diamond 

vire  fence, 
3re  the  soil 
^e  produce 
itry  lets  us 
:e  deafened 
he  preciona 
nd  disinte- 
w  ashes  it, 
gravel  dia- 
;enious  ma- 
j  a  constant 
amonds  and 
ittom,  while 
gems  floats 

rs  are  wire 
ich  sort  the 
ne  size.  But 
f  to  describe 
lical  readers, 
resting  room 


The  Great  Di^morid  Vault        267 

of  all.  Here,  on  both  sides  of  long  tables,  sit 
fifty  men  with  heaps  of  the  washed  gravel  be- 
fore them.  Who  knows  the  untold  wealth  that 
may  lie  in  those  heaps  of  little  wet  stones? 
Each  man  has  a  steel  knife  of  a  peculiar  shape 
and  a  tin  box,  not  unlike  a  child's  mite-box, 
with  a  slit  in  the  top.  With  his  knife  he  deftly 
spreads  out  the  little  stones  on  the  table,  with 
his  quick  eye  sees  the  precious  gems,  which  he 
picks  out  and  drops  into  his  mite  box. 

The  superintendent  takes  ofif  the  covers  of 
some  of  the  boxes  and  lets  us  look  within. 
See,  it  is  half  full  of  diamonds,  the  result  of  the 
morning's  work  alone !  Here  is  a  man  sorting 
larger  gravel,  and  his  tin  box  contains  forty 
large  diamonds  I  Another  by  his  side  is  search- 
ing in  a  pile  of  medium  sized  gravel,  and  he 
has  more  smaller  ones,  while  still  another  has  a 
heap  of  minute  brilliants,  not  much  larger  than 
a  pin-head,  in  his  tin  box.  Again  the  gravel  is 
sorted  over  by  convicts,  who  cost  the  company 
only  a  shilling  a  day ;  and  still  more  diamonds, 
overlooked  in  the  first  sorting,  are  rescued  by 
them  from  the  debris  before  it  is  cast  out  on 
the  ever-accumulating  mountain  of  "  tailings." 

Now,  readers  mine,  set  your  guessing  wits  to 
work,  and  tell  me  how  many  dollars'  worth  of 
diamonds  have  been  sorted  this  morning  by  the 
dozen  white  men  and  forty  convicts  behind  the 
tables.     Do  .you  give  it  up?    Then  I  will  tell 


'  "V.SIi "  ''''^."''"""  "•.«•»-  ■-  ^-|-.  •»■  -■ .-  - 


r--iiiriir<'.h 


I 


ll 


Ml'    t 


ih 


268 


Fellow  Travellers 


you.     No  less    than    sixty    thousand   dolbrs 
worth !     And  this  is  the  average  find,  y«ar  in 
and  year  uut,  from  nature's  inexhaustible  vault 
at  Kimberley.     Since   these   mines  were    dis- 
covered  sixty-five  millions  of  carats,  valued  at 
four  hundred  and  seventy-five  millions  of  dol^ 
lavs,  have  b.en  dug  out  and  washed  and  sorted 
at  these  mines.     As  about  five  million  carats 
go  to  a  ton,  nearly  fifteen  tons'  weight  of  pure 
diaraonds  have  been  exported,  and  how  many 
thousands  ot  tons  remain  to  be  won  no  man  is 
wise  enough  to  say ;    for  the  bottom  of  the 
vault  has  not  been  sounded,  and  the  deeper  the 
diggings  go  the  richer  they  are,  as  though  in 
nature's  great  jewel  box  the  best  diamonds  had 
settled  to  the  bottom,  like  the  plums  ui  a  pud- 

^The  largest  diamond  of  South  Africa,  how- 
ever, wp-s  not  found  at  Kimberley,  but  at  Jag- 
ersfonte,  in  the  Orange  Free  State.     This  is 
said  to  be  "the  largest  and  most  valuable  dia- 
mdnd  in  the  world."     Its  gross  weight  is  nine 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  and  one-half  carats,  the 
color  is  blue-white,  and  the  quality  very  fine. 
"Its  value  cannot  possibly  be  estimated'  ;  for 
it  must  be  remembered  that  though  diamonds 
of  ordinary  size  have  a  recognized  market  value 
of  from  seven  to  one  hundred  dollars  per  carat, 
according  to  fineness,  quality,  color,  etc.,  when 
the  stone  goes  above  one  hundred  carats  ito 


■»;Wi~:— >.*- 


<i--iSlifSS&Z 


mSmm 


1(1  dollars' 
lid,  year  in 
tible  vault 

were  dis- 
,  valued  at 
ODB  of  dol- 
and  sorted 
lion  carats 
jht  of  pure 

how  many 
1  no  man  is 
torn  of  the 
I  deeper  the 
s  though  in 
ainonds  had 
as  in  a  pud- 
Africa,  how- 
,  but  at  Jng- 
,te.     This  is 
iraluable  dia- 
eight  is  nine 
If  carats,  the 
ty  very  fine, 
mated";  for 
gh  diamonds 
market  value 
ars  per  carat, 
)r,  etc.,  when 
ed  carats  ita 


The  Great  Diamond  Vault       269 

price  is  enormously  enhanced  with  each  addi- 
tional carat.  The  length  of  this  literally  price- 
less jewel  is  about  two  and  one-half  inches,  its 
greatest  width  about  two  inches,  the  extreme 
girth  in  width  about  five  and  three-eighth 
inches,  and  in  length  about  six  and  three-fourth 
inches. 

Two  more  places  of  great  interest  we  must 
visit.     One  is  the  native  compound,  where  the 
workmen  are  kept  for  three  months  at  a  time 
in  a  voluntary  prison,  not  allowed  to  go  out  or 
in,  or  to  communicate  with  their  friends.  Even 
the  top  of  the  great  compound  is  covered  with 
a  wire  netting,  lest  some  workman  throws  out 
an  innocent-looking  potato  studded  with  dia- 
monds to  a  friend  beyond  the  walls.     When 
they  are  discharged  from  their  three  months' 
servitude  they  are  searched  and  stripped  and 
subjected  to  all  sorts  of  nameless  indignities, 
lest  in  their  clothes  or  under  their  skin  a  bril- 
liant be  concealed.     On  one   swarthy-skinned 
African  a  suspicious  sore  was  once  discovered. 
The   doctor  thought  he  ought   to   lance   the 
wound,  and  there  found  three  diamonds !     The 
Kaffir  had  actually  cut  out  a  flap  of  skin,  dug 
out  the  flesh  of  his  leg  and  concealed  therein 
the  diamonds,  putting  the  skin   back   in   its 
place ;  but  instead  of  healing,  the  wound  had 
festered,  and  so  discovered  the  living  diamond 
mine. 


"'s«ga6ii^iill!jfeigiy^^|^Tfg;||^^ 


n 


n' 


270 


Fellow  Travellers 


m 


Thousands  of  natives  are  often  gathered  in 
a  single  compound,  and  they  come  from  all 
parts  of  Africa— Kaffirs,  Basutos,  Beohuanas, 
Fingoes  and  half  a  dozen  other  tribes.  Most  of 
them  are  "  raw  heathen,"  and  no  better  oppor- 
tunity for  missionary  work  can  be  imagined 
than  is  here  found.  I  am  glad  to  say  that 
many  missionaries  are  taking  advantage  of  it 
both  here  and  in  Johannesburg,  and  services 
are  regularly  held  every  Sunday,  and  frequently 
on  week-days. 

There  are  the  men  who  blast  and  dig  and 
hoist  to  daylight  the  blue  ground.  They  stand 
at  the  beginning  of  the  diamond  industry,  so 
to  speak.  At  the  other  end,  in  the  ofSce  of  the 
De  Beers  Company,  we  find  the  finished  prod- 
uct— the  diamonds,  sorted  and  sized  and 
graded,  waiting  for  shipment. 

What  a  fairyland  is  this  office  I  Diamonds 
galore  I  On  every  counter  heaps  of  themt 
Little  shining  piles  of  white  stones !  A  million 
dollars'  worth  awaiting  shipment  I  A  trusted 
official,  employed  in  the  office  in  examining  and 
valuing  the  diamonds,  shows  us  about.  Here  is 
a  big  one  of  two  hundred  carats,  worth  twenty 
dollars  a  carat.  Here  is  a  heap  of  ten-carat 
stones.  Here  is  a  twin  stone ;  a  clean  cleft  in 
the  middle  makes  it  "  twins."  A  yellow  stone 
is  very  valuable,  but  this  deep  orange  is  exceed- 
ingly rare  and  worth  slill  more;  while  this 


•ii 


B»»Wi*iiii»t<MiMiir»<iiwi«i»gap»iii«w<i»pi^iitfii<ifiiii*rt'^i»iiiii>i<ii^^ 


gathered  in 
16  from  all 
Beohuanas, 
3B.  Most  of 
etter  oppor- 
)e  imagined 
to  say  that 
antage  of  it 
lud  services 
d  frequently 

Bind  dig  and 
They  stand 
industry,  so 
office  of  the 
nished  prod< 
sized    and 

Diamonds 
i  of  them  t 
A  million 
A  trusted 
nmining  and 
ut.  Here  is 
orth  twenty 
of  ten-carat 
lean  cleft  in 
yellow  stone 
ge  is  exceed- 
;  while  this 


The  Great  Diamond  Vault        271 

little  pink  stone  of  only  one  fourth  of  a  carat 
is  of  almost  untold  value,  for  only  three  or  four 
pink  diamonds  have  ever  heon  found.    These 
black  spots  render  this  heap  of  stones  far  less 
valuable,   and   their  bad   "faults"  and  scars 
make  this  pile  fit  only  for  drills  or  for  polish- 
ing   other  diamonds.     "How  many  of   your 
diamonds    are    absolutely    perfect?"     "Only 
about  eight  per  cent,"  replied  our  guide,  as  he 
carelessly  ran   his  fingers  through  a  hundred 
thousan<?  dollars'  worth  of  gems.    How  much 
like  human  nature !    Some  black  spot,  some  oflF 
color,  some  flaw,  some  fault  f    Alas,  how  much 
smaller  is  the  per  cent  of  men  and  women  than 
of  diamonds  that  have  no  defect.    "  There's 
something  spiles  us  all,"  said  the  old  lady,  when 
reflecting  on  her   minister's  irritability.    Ah, 
yes;  diamonds  of  the  first  water  are  always 
rare.     But  I  need  not  linger  on  the  ethics  of 
diamond  mining.     The  morals  of  the  gem  are 
many  and  obvious.    Like  the  sorters  at  Kim- 
berley,  let  each  one  pick  them  out  for  himself. 


,   4|MUlhtfK|M|MiU^' 


Mm^'^'"''—  '"^vm^WtMiMM 


•*a*dilki>>-- - 


! 
f 


Mi 


■;li 

11; 


0 


i 


XLIII 

UNTO  THE  THIBD  AND  FOURTH  GBNEBATION 

Some  families  seem  to  be  chosen  of  God,  as 
are  some  men,  to  accomplish  a  unique  and  no- 
table work  in  the  world.  Such  families  are  the 
Adams,  the  Harrisons,  and  the  Beecher  families 
of  America,  such  are  a  half-dozen  that  might 
be  mentioned  in  England,  such  pre-eminently  is 
the  Murray  family  of  South  Africa. 

It  is  not  often,  indeed,  that  God  honors  a 
family  by  committing  to  it  the  evangelization 
of  a  continent,  but  it  is  scarcely  too  much  to 
say  that  this  is  the  higL  and  unusual  honor  be- 
stowed upon  Andrew  Murray  the  First,  of  Scot- 
land, and  his  descendants. 

I  say  Andrew  Murray  the  First,  for  there  is 
now  Andrew  Murray  the  Second,  the  most  fa- 
mous of  the  succession,  whose  devotional  books 
are  read  every  day  in  a  multitude  of  homes ; 
and  Andrew  the  Third,  who  has  devoted  his 
life  to  the  natives  of  Nyassaland.  Several 
Andrews  the  Fourth  are  on  the  way,  if  I  am 
not  mistaken,  though  they  are  not  yet  out  of 
knickerbockers. 

Every  part  of  South  Africa  has  felt  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Murray  family  from  the  Zambezi 

872 


ill:' 


'''-ijSSlijtHimie^iij^r«tKiiV*^f4P^jli0>fti-i  t«4K^>rvKM£'«'i*^<«M«<wi»Mt«4.if«iib«MM 


itifMfMM-*^r*m^    I   iiilll'"H»Wiiifir' .'■■  i'-  ^*3*-^ 


■fiSStSESSST .  "■; : 


iNEBATION 

of  God,  as 
ue  end  no- 
lies  are  the 
er  families 
:;bat  might 
ninently  is 

I  honors  a 
Dgelization 

0  much  to 

1  honor  be- 
st, of  Scot- 

for  there  is 
le  most  fa- 
onal  books 
of  homes; 
evoted  his 
I.  Several 
ij,  if  I  am 
yet  out  of 

felt  the  in- 
le  Zambezi 


Third  and  Fourth  Generation     273 

and  beyond,  to  Table  Bay.  Every  church  calls 
them  blessed;  while  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  the  most  influential  of  all  throughout 
the  continent,  has  been  rejuvenated  and  actually 
transformed  by  their  influence. 

But  to  begin  our  story  at  the  beginning  with 
Andrew  the  First.  Seventy-five  years  ago,  as 
has  been  noted  above,  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  of  South  Africa,  becoming  alarmed  at 
the  spread  of  rationalism  and  indifferentism  in 
its  midst,  and,  distrusting  the  clergymen  that 
came  from  Holland,  most  of  whom  were  avowed 
rationalists,  sent  to  Scotland  for  some  godly 
and  learned  young  ministers  who  might  break 
the  Broad  of  Life  unto  the  Boers  in  the  great 
continent  which  they  had  chosen  for  their 
home. 

Most  fortunately  for  South  Africa,  one  of 
those  chosen  for  this  great  work  of  spiritual 
nation-building  was  a  young  man,  Murray  by 
name,  no  other  than  Andrew  Murray  the  First. 
It  had  not  been  in  the  past  annals  a  distin- 
guished family  as  the  world  counts  distinction. 
The  father  was  a  farmer,  and  the  grandfather, 
and  it  was  not  a  luxurious  living  that  they 
wrung  from  the  unwilling  soil  of  Scotia.  But, 
as  God  counts  distinction,  I  think  it  must  have 
been  a  famous  family,  for  never  was  the  promise 
to  "  the  third  and  fourth  generation  "  more 
literally  fulfilled.    One  of  the  yeoman  ances- 


i 

f 


Ls^'grasjgistas,^! 


■■'■^>TC*S!|!«S.\itft!f*j.-p»j)[,'j^vi'^«     •  - 


r 


i 


n 


t 


^-^4* 


274 


Fellow  Travellers 


tors  gave  to  his  descendants  this  verse,  whioh 
has  been  the  covenant  promise  of  the  South 
African  branch  of  the  family  :— 

"As  for  me,  this  i»  my  covettant  mth  them,  laiih  the  Lard : 
My  ^rit  thai  it  upon  thee,  and  my  words  which  I  have  put  in 
thy  mouth,  ahaa  not  depart  out  of  thy  mouih,  nor  out  of  th3 
mouth  of  thy  aeed,  nor  otU  of  the  mouth  of  thy  teed'a  teed,  aaith 
the  Lord,  from  henceforth  and  forever." 

"  I  was  much  surprised,"  said  the  Rev.  An- 
drew Murray  of  Wellington,  when  visiting 
Canada  a  few  years  ago,  "  to  find  that  another 
branch  of  the  family  who  emigrated  to  tlie 
Dominion  about  the  time  my  father  came  to 
Africa  had  a  similar  covenant  verse  for  their 
own,  though  neither  branch  of  the  family  had 
previously  known  anything  about  the  other". 
Their  c  ivenant  was  recorded  in  Deut.  7:9: 

"Know,  therefore,  that  the  Lord  thy  God, 
he  is  God,  the  faithful  God,  which  keepeth 
covenant  and  mercy  with  them  that  love  him 
and  keep  his  commandments  to  a  thousand 
generations."  See  how  similar  are  the  oovenant 
verses,  though  the  wide  Atlantic  and  eighty  de- 
grees of  latitude  stretched  between  the  two 
branches  of  this  godly  family. 

Andrew  Murray  the  First  came  to  Cape 
Town  about  the  year  1820,  and  was  very  soon 
assigned  to  the  pastorate  of  the  important 
church  in  Graaf  Reinet,  then  as  now  one  of  the 
most  important  towns  of  Cape  Co?  ny.    But 


I  <i»i»i»)>ii>>»iwm«»i  iiiiniiKMiiimimii'iniwiii  i«<i 


■se,  whioh 
he  South 


f(A  the  Lord : 
I  have  put  in 
>r  out  of  the 
('«  seed,  taith 

Rev.  An- 
il visiting 
\t  another 
:d  to  the 
r  came  to 

for  their 
amily  had 
lie  other" 
.7:9: 

thy  God, 
1  keepeth 

love  him 

thousand 
9  covenant 
eighty  de- 
i  the  two 

I  to  Cape 

very  soon 

important 

one  of  the 

ay.     But 


Third  and  Fourth  Generation      275 

before  he  started  for  his  new  pastorate,  which 
then  involved  a  serious  journey  of  several  weeks 
by  horse  ov  bullock-cnrt  from  Cape  Town,  a 
romantic  event  occurred,  which  was  destined  to 
have  an  incalculable  influence  upon  the  desti- 
nies of  the  Murray  family  of  South  Africa. 
Tiiis  event  was  nothing  else  than  a  case  of 
genuine  love  at  first  sight.  The  young  dom- 
inie, while  in  church  at  Cape  Town  (whether 
in  the  pulpit  or  the  pew  deponent  saith  not)  was 
struck  by  the  fresh  and  lovely  face  of  a  young 
Dutch-speaking  girl  of  Huguenot  extraction. 
He  made  inquiries,  found  that  she  was  as  good 
as  she  was  pretty,  and  (we  pass  over  the  easily 
supplied  preliminaries)  earned  her  o£f  to  the 
Graaf  Reinet  parsonage,  bis  sixteen-year-old 
bride.  Before  she  was  seventeen  she  was  the 
mother  of  John,  afterward  Professor  John 
Murray  of  Steilenbosch,  a  revered  and  beloved 
professor  of  Theology,  recently  deceased.  Then 
followed  in  rapid  succession  sixteen  other 
children  of  whom  I  think  twelve  lived  to  grow 
up.  The  following  is  an  incomplete  list ;  An- 
drew the  second,  famous  now  the  world  around 
for  his  saintly  life  and  writings ;  William,  the 
greatly  beloved  pastor  of  Worcester,  Cape 
Colony;  Maria,  the  wife  of  Pastor  Neethling 
of  Stellenbo9c;h,  the  university  town  of  South 
Africa;  Charles,  honored  as  was  his  father 
whom  he  has  succeeded  in  the  pastorate  of  the 


JsfS^- 


-/? 


.fl 

il 

11 

:i. 

Mi 


'I 


i 


.^£La 


276 


Fellow  Travellers 


beautiful  church  of  Graaf  Reinet ;  Jeminia, 
now  Mrs.  Louw,  the  wife  of  a  ministar  and 
mother  of  other  niiiiistero ;  Isabella  (Mrs.  Hoff- 
rueyer),  a  name  beyond  most  others  revered 
in  South  Africa ;  James,  a  farmer  brother  whose 
health  alone  prevented  him  from  studying  for 
the  ministry  and  who  now  has  charge  of  the 
old  homestead  at  Graaf  Reinet;  George,  the 
pastor  of  another  important  church  of  Cape 
Colony;  Helen,  the  efficient  principal  of  a 
splendid  school  for  young  ladies  at  Graaf 
Reinet ;  and  Eliza  (another  Mrs.  Neethling),  a 
widow,  who  with  her  accomplished  daughters 
haa  opened  another  flourishing  school. 

Oar  space  will  not  allow  us  to  call  the  roll  of 
the  third  generation.  If  we  could  do  so,  more 
than  a  hundred  grandchildren  would  respond, 
many  of  whom  are  active  and  earnest  ministers 
or  missionaries  o  ministers'  wives.  Even  the 
fourth  generation  alieady  has  not  a  few  repre- 
sentatives, and  all  with  their  faces  Zionwards. 
Each  married  child  of  Andrew  the  First  has 
blessed  the  world  on  an  average  with  about  a 
dozen  children,  and  some  with  more.  Thus 
John  has  had  sixteen,  /  ndrew  eleven,  William 
twelve,  Mrs.  Neethling  eleven,  Charles  fourteen, 
and  George  fifteen.  I  have  never  seen  a  more 
attractive  photograph  than  the  family  group  of 
Rev.  George  Murray  and  his  wife  and  their  fif- 
teen hearty,  stalwart,  handsome  boys  and  girls. 


V'  ^^S3SSvSfSs:fseivrg^s'-ii:^x,iiSg:f;stii 


jPiHSr^^^X^^flUtgBl^iiP  Tlftjr*-  !ffr^ 


II,  ,1l*L< 


Jemin'ia, 
listar  and 
Mrs.  Ho£F- 
■g  revered 
her  whose 
idying  for 
^e  of  the 
sorge,  the 

of  Cape 
ipal  of   a 

at  Graaf 
ithling),  a 
daughters 

the  roll  of 
>  so,  more 
I  rAspond, 
I  ministers 
Even  the 
few  repre- 
!ionwards. 
First  has 
;h  about  a 
re.  Thus 
1,  William 
i  fourteen, 
len  a  more 
Y  group  of 
d  their  fif- 
and  girls. 


Third  and  Fourth  Generation      277 

An  example  this  for  the  puny,  degenerate 
families  of  the  present  in  Old  England  and  New 
England  alike,  where  a  little  brood  of  two  are 
sometimes  counted  two  too  many. 

But  to  return  to  the  old  Dutch  parsonage  of 
Graaf  Reinet  to  which  Andrew  Murray  the 
First  brought  his  sixteen-year-old  bride  when 
the  century  was  young.  Never  were  children 
more  fortunate  in  their  mother  than  the  numer- 
ous Murray  children.  Not  that  this  is  par- 
ticularly to  their  credit,  perhaps,  but  it  was 
greatly  to  their  advantage.  Hers  was  one  of 
those  sweet,  persuasive  natures  which  mould 
and  guide  and  bless  without  seeming  to  know 
it  themselves,  certainly  without  conscious  effort. 
When  asked  how  it  was  that  her  children  had 
all  turned  out  so  well,  she  answered,  "  Ob,  I 
don't  know,  /didn't  do  anything."  But  e"ery 
one  else  knew,  if  she  did  not.  She  jmt  lived 
hertelf  the  life  she  wanted  her  boy$  and  girls  to 
live.  Her  life  was  "  hid  with  Christ  in  God," 
and  they,  through  her,  saw  the  beauty  of  holi- 
ness. Much  of  the  mystic  element  which  ap- 
pears in  the  life  and  writings  of  her  famous  son 
was  undoubtedly  derived  fro  m  his  mother,  who, 
while  in  the  world,  was  not  altogether  of  it. 
"  Her  chief  characteristic,"  said  one  of  her  chil- 
dren to  me,  "  was  a  happy  contentment  with 
her  lot."  She  was  always  exactly  where  she 
wished  to  bs,  because  she  was  where  her  Father 


r. 


'^''■^'■^i^^!if'i^S£^Mkm, 


^ 


m 


278 


Fellow  Travellers 


ill  Heaven  had  placed  her.    She  outlived  her  hus- 
band, Andrew  Murray  the  First,  by  many  years, 
and  only  a  few  years  ago  was  laid  in  the  grave  by 
the  hands  of  loving  children  and  grandchildren. 
Many  are  fhe  stories  still  extant  concerning  this 
sweet  and  tender  little  mother  in  Israel.   One  day 
one  of  her  children  found  her  helping  her  grand- 
children in  some  charades  they  were  playing, 
making  masks  and  dressing  themselves  up  in 
grotesque  fashion.    •♦  Why,  grandma,"  said  this 
daughter  in  feigned  surprise,  "  are  you  helping 
in    duch    worldly    things    as    charades?    I'm 
shocked  at  you."     "  Yes,  my  dear,"  she  replied, 
"  I  think  the  Lord  Jesus  would  like  me  to  make 
the  children  happy  in  this  way."    She  was  very 
fond  of  good  stories,  and  would  often  sit  up 
half  the  night  when  interested.    She  was  some- 
what asham  d  of  this  weakness,  as  she  con- 
sidered it,  and  did  not  realize  that  it  was  but  a 
natural    craviug    of   her  sympathetic  nature. 
But  all  her  children  realized  that  her  wonder- 
ful serenity  and  gentleness  and  loveliness  of 
character  came  not  a  little  from  the  hours  of 
long  communion  when  she  looked  up  into  the 
face  of  the  Invisible  and  thus  learned  to  endure 
as  seeing  him. 

If  the  Murray  children  were  fortunate  in 
thcii  mother,  they  were  scarcely  less  fortunate 
in  their  home.  Imagine  a  beautiful  oasis  in  a 
stony,  forbidding  desert,  and  you  have  a  mental 


V#tj-3.rf^^,^*«S(»*«^^';A*»  W**>1 


g-t5^.gr-sJr.:;j\v,t,i«!Mawaaa'<ai.«wiu'- 


ved  her  hus- 
raany  years, 
ihe  grave  bj 
indcbildren. 
ceroing  this 
b1.   One  day 
g  her  grand- 
ire  playing, 
elves  up  in 
B,"  said  this 
fovL  helping 
ades  ?    I'm 
she  replied, 
me  to  make 
be  was  very 
ften  sit  up 
>  was  some- 
is  she  con- 
t  was  but  a 
tic  nature, 
er  wonder- 
veliness  of 
be  hours  of 
lip  into  the 
1  to  endure 

Ttunate  in 
3  fortunate 
1  oasis  in  a 
^e  a  mental 


Third  and  Fourth  Generation      279 

picture  of  Graaf  Reinet  where  they  were  all 
born  and  brought  up.  The  Karoo,  as  it  is 
called,  is  a  famous  district  of  South  Africa, 
arid,  parched,  streamless,  the  natural  home  of 
the  ostrich  and  a  hardy  breed  of  sheep  that  live 
on  the  Karoo  bush.  It  has,  to  be  sure,  a  certain 
barren  beauty  all  its  own,  a  beauty  which  Olive 
Schreiner  has  best  described.  But  Graaf  Reinet 
does  not  need  the  pen  of  an  Olive  Schreiner 
to  describe  its  beauty,  for  it  is  indeed  the  "GeTi 
of  the  Karoo."  A  fertilizing  stream  runs 
through  the  town,  making  every  street  green 
with  trees,  and  every  garden  to  laugh  with 
luxuriant  bloom.  Around  it  tower  the  cirious, 
square-topped  hills,  typical  of  South  Africa,  and 
on  every  side  is  the  desert.  Perhaps  the  finest 
garden  in  Graaf  Reinet  is  that  of  the  old  Dutch 
parsonage.  In  this  parsonage  all  the  Murray 
children  were  born,  and  in  this  garden  they  all 
grew  up.  In  the  garden  are  forty  difltereut 
kinds  of  grape-vines  all  loaded  with  luscious 
branches  when  I  saw  the  Ji.  At  one  time,  be- 
fore the  phylloxera  did  its  deadly  work,  there 
were  sixty  varieties.  One  of  these  vines  is  fully 
three  feet  in  girth,  and  is  said  to  be  the  largest 
vine  in  South  Africa,  if  not  in  the  world. 

So  abundant  is  the  fruit  that  a  "Christian 
Endeavor  grape  social"  is  one  of  the  distin- 
guishing features  of  the  Graaf  Reinet  social 
year.    Once  a  year  all  the  Christian  Endeav- 


i 


I 
I 

I 

i  k 

i 
i 


'•:^^'f  •• 


:sssamm 


280 


Fellow  Travellers 


v! 


'(    ] 


orers  of  Graaf  Reinet,  at  the  invitation  ol  Rev. 
Charles  Murray,  the  present  proprietor,  turn 
themselves  loose  in  the  garden  and  eat  their 
fill,  but  after  the  hungry  boys  and  girls  have 
gone  Mr.  Murray  tells  me  you  would  scarcely 
know  the  fruit  had  been  touched,  so  much  is 
there  of  it.    Besides  grapes,  you  will  find  in 
this  famous  garden  peaches,  apricots,  plums, 
and  pears  and  cherries,  tamarinds  and  loquats, 
pomegranates  bursting  their  too  full  sides  and 
displaying    their    ruby  contents,   date    palms 
throwing  down  a  shower  of  yellow  fruit,  al- 
monds and  walnuts,  and  I  do  not  know  how 
many  other  luscious  fruits  and  nuts.     "Help 
yourself,"  said  my  hospitable  host,  "  there  is  no 
forbidden  tree  in  all  this  garden."     Besides  the 
more  useful  trees  are  also  found  bamboo  and 
cypress,  glossy-leaved  rubber  trees  as  big  as 
English  oaks,  Norfolk  pines,  and  many  another 
which  at  home  we  cultivate  as  rare  exotics  in 
our  greenhouses. 

Such  was  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  for  why 
should  we  hesitate  to  apply  this  title  to  the 
parsonage  compound  at  Graaf  Reinet,  in  which, 
as  I  have  said,  the  Murray  family  grew  up? 
"  The  chief  characteristic  of  the  household  at 
Graaf  Reinet  was  reverence"  said  Mrs.  Neeth- 
ling,  the  eldest  daughter,  who  kindly  gave  me 
many  of  the  facts  of  this  article.  "  We  all  rev- 
erenced God  and  God's  book  and  God's  day. 


<:ji«»L:;:*S 


vti-,'JWS"'SSiafiS 


Third  and  Fourth  Generation      281 


ation  ol  Rev. 
tprietor,  turn 
lud  eat  their 
id  girls  have 
ould  scarcely 
i,  so  much  is 
I  will  find  in 
ricots,  plums, 
B  and  loquats. 
full  sides  and 
I,   date    palms 
How  fruit,  al- 
lot know  how 
nuts.    "  Help 
t,  "  there  is  no 
'    Besides  the 
1  bamboo  and 
:ees  as  big  as 
many  another 
rare  exotics  in 

Lord,  for  why 
lis -<  title  to  the 
einet,  in  which, 
mily  grew  up? 
B  household  at 
,id  Mrs.  Neeth- 
Isindly  gave  me 
♦»  We  all  rev- 
ind  God's  day. 


The  children  reverenced  their  parents,  and  the 
servants  reverenced  their  master  and  mistress. 
We  reverenced  God's  day  by  keeping  it  strictly. 
The  meat  for  the  Sunday  dinner  was  cooked  on 
Saturday,  the  raisins  for  the  *  yellow  rice '  (a 
kind  of  curry  which  is  a  favorite  Sunday  dish 
among  the  Boers)  were  stoned  on  Saturday. 
The  g-  pes  v/ere  picked  and  the  house  swept 
and  the  boots  blacked  the  day  before,  and  when 
Sunday  came  we  all,  down  to  the  seventeenth 
little  toddler,  expected  to  go  to  church,  all  the 
older  children  three  times  a  day,  under  the  blis- 
tering summer  sun  (and  it  knows  how  to  blister 
in  Graaf  Reinet),  as  well  as  when  the  cooler 
breezes  blew." 

And  did  this  strictness  and  this  churchgoing 
disgust  the  coming  M urrays  with  religion?  Let 
the  stalwart,  devoted  lives  of  the  dozen  chil- 
dren that  reached  maturity  and  their  hundred 
grandchildren  answer  this  question  and  forever 
silence  the  namby-pamby  religiosity  that  fears 
to  expect  too  much  of  the  children  lest  they  be 
turned  away  from  the  church.  It  is  not  the 
Sabbath  strictness  but  the  unkindly  and  un- 
godly life  of  many  a  professed  Puritan  that  has 
turned  the  children  from  the  faith. 

But  the  world  is  especially  interested,  per- 
haps, in  one  of  the  boys  that  grew  up  in  the 
Graaf  Reinet  garden,  Andrew  Murray  the  Sec- 
ond.    When  he  came  to  sufficient  years,  he  was 


t!!Skr.$i3t3!S- 


282 


Fellow  Travellers 


=3i 


sent  to  Scotland  for  his  education ;  graduated 
in  ihe  arts  and  then  in  theology,  went  to  Hol- 
land a  year  or  two  to  perfect  himself  in  the 
Dutch  language,  and  then  returned  to  South 
Africa  where  his  great  lifa-work  has  been  ac- 
complished, and   his   many   books  have   been 
written.    He  was  a  mere  beardic«s  boy  when 
he  first  returned  to  Africa,  only  twenty  years 
old  and  still  more  youthful  in  appearance.    The 
rules  of  the  church  forbade  his  being  ordained 
until  he  was  twenty  two,  so  he  was  sent  as  a 
missionary  to  the  Orange  Free  State  and  the 
Transvaal,  a  little  parish  about  twice  the  size 
of  England. 

Still,  it  was  large  enough  for  a  boy.  And 
well  did  this  beardless  boy  cultivate  it.  "  Wh)', 
they  have  sent  us  a  girl  to  preach  to  us,"  said 
one  of  the  old  Dutch  farmers.  But  fragile  as 
his  appearance  then  was,  there  was  no  end  to  the 
endurance  of  this  young  preacher.  He  would 
go  oflF  for  weeks  at  a  time  on  horseback,  hold- 
ing  services  in  some  convenient  centre  on  the 
Veldt  to  which,  from  scores  and  even  hundreds 
of  miles  around,  the  Boers  would  come.  A  tem- 
porary church  of  reeds  would  be  erected,  backed 
and  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  the  big  Dutch 
farm  wagons.  In  this  the  boy  preacher  would 
discourse  with  all  the  fire  and  fervency  and 
spiritual  power  which  so  live  and  breathe  in  his 
books. 


•if  M 


!..' 


i 


n;  graduated 
went  to  Hol- 
mself  in  tlie 
led  to  South 
has  been  ao- 
i  have  been 
"9  boy  when 
twenty  years 
Eirance.  The 
ing  ordained 
as  sent  as  a 
ate  and  the 
vice  the  size 

I  boy.    And 

9  it.    "Wh)', 
to  us,"  said 

ut  fragile  as 

10  end  to  the 
He  would 

eback,  hold- 
sntre  on  the 
m  hundreds 
lie.  A  tem- 
:ted,  backed 
a  big  Dutch 
icher  would 
rvency  and 
eathe  in  his 


Third  and  Fourth  Generation      283 

'>  ''For  six  weeks  at  a  time,"  on  one  occa- 
sion, "one  hundred  babies  every  Sunday  were 
brought  to  me  for  baptism,"  he  told  me ;  "  and 
in  these  rude  reed  churches  I  preached  some  of 
the  sermons  which  the  world  has  since  asked 
me  to  put  into  books." 

"I  could  shut  my  eyes,  and  it  seemed  as 
though  an  angel  from  heaven  were  preaching," 
said  Mrs.  Neethling,  the  sister,  who  for  eighteen 
monthH  kept  house  for  him  in  Bloemfontein, 
when  he  was  the  pastor  of  the  Orange  Free 
State  and  the  Transvaal. 

It  is  very  much  the  same  with  us,  is  it  not, 
my  reader,  as  we  peruse  his  books  which  so 
throb  with  the  spirit  and  power  of  God  ?  We 
open  our  eyes  to  read,  and  it  seems  as  if  an 
angel  from  heaven  were  speaking  to  us  out  ^'f 
the  printed  page.  This  is  the  plain  unvarnished 
tale  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  one  of 
the  most  influential  families  which  this  genera- 
tion or  any  other  has  known.  Never  was  there 
a  more  remarkable  fulfilment  of  the  premise, 
"Instead  of  the  fathers  shall  be  the  children." 
Never  was  the  constancy  of  the  covenant-keep- 
ing God  more  wonderfully  demonstrated. 


~.^''Bi?.^!*^f'^.'''^^'^^'^^^'^^'^'*''^'''^ '  ''-^^liii 


XLIV 


LAST  DAYS  IN  SOUTH  AFBIOA 

The  last  week  of  my  stay  in  South  Africa 
was  in  some  respects  the  most  encouraging  of 
all,  and  during  these  seven  days  the  most  im- 
portant steps  for  the  advancement  of  Christian 
Endeavor  were  taken. 

I  have  not  time  to  tell  you  of  beautiful 
Worcester,  which,  like  Zion,  'stands  with  hills 
surrounded."  There  I  wan  he  happy  guest  of 
Rev.  William  Murray,  h  has  an  excellent 
school  for  girls  under  the  care  of  two  efficient 
American  teachers,  Miss  Smith  and  Miss  Ly- 
man. Here,  from  all  the  assembled  scholars, 
gathered  in  front  of  the  principal  buildings,  I 
received  a  most  flowery  welcome. 

I  wish  I  could  describe  at  length  the  delight- 
ful day  at  Wellington,  the  home  of  Rev.  An- 
drew Murray,  and  the  home  as  well,  as  you  can 
easily  believe,  of  one  of  the  best  Christian  En- 
deavor societies  in  South  Africa.  What  a  greets 
ing  it  was  that  you  received,  through  your  rep- 
resentative, my  dear  fellow-Endeavorers ! 

It  was  almost  too  much  for  a  bashful  man, 
until  he  remembered  that  he  represented  you, 
and  then  be  held  up  his  head,  and  marched 

i«64 


'  jfMjr^  iiiiif 


.-SB&aW 


y  ,- 


},  ■ 


AFBIOA 

in  South  Africa 
t  encouraging  of 
ays  the  most  im- 
leut  of  Christian 

\fo\x  of  beautiful 
stands  with  hills 
le  happy  guest  of 
las  an  excellent 
e  of  two  efficient 
th  and  Miss  Ly- 
sembled  scholars, 
icipal  buildings,  I 
me. 

ength  the  delight- 
lome  of  Rev.  An- 
,s  well,  as  you  can 
)est  Christian  En- 
5a.  What  a  greets 
through  your  rep- 
ludeavorers ! 
'or  a  bashful  man, 
B  represented  you, 
[ead,  and  marched 


Last  Days  in  South  Africa        285 

bravely  between  two  long  rows  composed  of 
two  hundred  South  African  maidens,  who  were 
singing : 

"  A  welcome,  a  welcome,  a  welcome  to  thee , 
A  welcome  to  our  iiunny  land,  dear  friend  from  o'er  the  tea ; 
Then  welcome,  thrice  welcome,  glad  welcome  to  thee. 
We  pray  that  all  thy  coming  years  may  blessed  be." 

Fortunately  he  was  supported  in  this  walk 
by  Miss  Bliss,  one  of  the  American  teachers  of 
Wellington  Seminary  and  one  of  the  best  friends 
Christian  Endeavor  ever  had  in  Africa. 

Let  me  tell  those  of  you  who  do  not  know  it 
that  here  in  Wellington  was  established  the 
first  "South  African  Mount  Holyoke."  More 
than  twenty-five  years  ago,  at  the  invitation  of 
Rev.  Andrew  Murray,  two  American  teachers. 
Miss  Ferguson  and  Miss  Bliss,  came  out  to  es- 
tablish a  school  for  young  ladies  on  the  •'  Mary 
Lyon  model."  This  school  has  been  the  mother 
of  several  others,  in  which  scores  of  American 
teachers  have  been  employed ;  and  of  all  the 
good  influences  for  the  advancement  of  the 
Kingdom  in  South  Africa,  next  to  the  church 
of  God  itself,  these  appeared  to  me  the  most 
hopeful. 

A  Keswick  convention,  under  the  leadership 
of  Mr.  Murray,  was  being  held  when  I  reached 
Wellington,  and  for  one  day  it  was  turned  into 
a  Christian  Endeavor  meeting.  It  was  a  great 
joy  to  me  to  meet,  and  for  a  day  to  be  under  the 


"  ''?fiyjgj;'i'!f'-!ij''y!^!**>«»«''i'w^ 


286 


Fellow  Travellers 


guidunce  of  one  to  whom,  in  coniaion  with  tens 
of  thousands  of  others,  I  owe  so  much  spiritual 
life  and  li^;iit. 

We  must  hurry  on  to  Cape  Town,  the  me- 
tropolis of  South  Africa,  where  the  Endeavor 
Convention  was  held.  But  we  did  not  leave 
WeUingtou  altogether  behind,  for  nearly  a 
hundred  delegates,  under  the  lead  of  Miss 
Bliss,  came  to  the  meetings.  Others  came  from 
Worcester,  Stellenbosch,  Graaf  Reinet,  and 
other  places ;  and  very  pleasant  and  profitable 
meetings  were  held,  though  there  were  only 
one  or  two  of  us  present  who  had  ever  been  at 
an  Endeavor  convention  before. 

Necessarily,  things  were  somewhat  informal. 
Open  parliaments,  rallies,  early  prayer  meet- 
ings, presentations  of  flags.  Junior  hours,  etc., 
were  conspicuous  by  their  absence ;  and  the 
voice  of  the  American  visitor  was  heard,  I  fear, 
too  often.  Nevertheless,  the  convention  marked 
the  beginning  of  better  and  larger  days  for 
Christian  Endeavor  in  South  Africa. 

A  most  cordial  welcome  meeting  was  held  on 
the  last  evening  of  April,  in  which  many  of  the 
ministers  of  Cape  Town  of  all  denominations 
participated.  May  day  saw  three  sessions  of 
the  convention, — morning,  afternoon,  and  even- 
ing. Sunday  had  four  services  for  me  in  three 
different  churches,  the  closing  one  being  in  the 
Adderly  Street  Dutch  Reformed  church  after 


^^uB-;;trni*^!«.j»"g'^wusi!.."JiJ  m.vj.'i^'jffj'^  ■ "" 


MlHI 


QD  with  tens 
uch  spiritual 

)wn,  the  rae- 
ke  Endeavor 
d  not  leave 
"or  nearly  a 
iad  of  Miss 
I's  came  from 
Reinet,  and 
id  profitable 
>  were  only 
ever  been  at 

hat  informal, 
prayer  meet* 
:  hours,  etc., 
ce ;  and  the 
heard,  I  fear, 
iition  marked 
rer  days  for 
!a. 

I  was  held  on 
1  many  of  the 
enominationa 
e  sessions  of 
on,  and  even- 
r  me  in  three 
!  being  in  the 
church  after 


Last  Days  in  South  Africa        287 

the  regular  services  were  over.  This  is  an  im- 
mense church,  the  largest  in  Africa,  and  one  of 
the  largest  in  the  world,  seating  three  thousand 
people ;  and  it  was  well  filled. 

My  last  night  on  South  African  soil  was  spent 
in  Stellenbosch,  a  famous  educational  centre. 
Once  more  I  found  myself  in  the  home  of  one 
of  the  Murray  family,  Mrs.  Maria  Neethling. 
Here,  too,  is  a  fine  Christian  Endeavor  society, 
whose  only  diflBculty  is  that  it  has  so  many 
active  members  that  it  is  diflBcult  for  all  to  take 
part  in  an  hour.  Many  lessons  of  trust  and 
love  and  resignation  were  taught  me  in  this 
last  day  in  Mrs.  Neethling's  home,  which,  in 
some  form,  I  hope  to  pass  over  to  you  one  of 
these  days. 

Thus  comes  to  an  end  this  South  African 
Christian  Endeavor  tour,  for  as  I  write  I  am 
speeding  homeward  (O  how  blessed  an  adverb 
after  nearly  ten  months  absence  ! )  on  one  of  the 
steamers  of  the  Union  line.  In  some  respects, 
which  I  need  not  particularize,  this  has  been 
one  of  the  most  difficult  missions  of  my  life. 
During  these  seven  weeks  in  Africa  I  have 
journeyed  for  you  (and  with  you  in  spirit)  two 
thousand  eight  hundred  miles,  have  made  sixty- 
nine  addresses  for  Christian  Endeavor,  and 
have  visited  almost  every  place  of  considerable 
size  in  Natal,  the  Transvaal,  the  Orange  Free 
State,  and  Cape  Colony. 


,l'^ 


11 


'  .^ 


^:fig!?S3:t?SJ*aiSm« 


ii' 


:•    I, 


288 


Fellow  Trwellcrs 


Unite  with  me,  my  readers,  in  the  prayer 
that  this  great  continent,  with  its  magnificent 
possibilities  and  glorious  future,  may  be  made 
the  land  of  Xing  Emmanuel,  and  that  Christian 
Endeavor  may  have  some  worthy  part  in  the 
coming  victory. 


■■>»aa»mnia'i«  1  ymu 


"i? 


the  prayer 
oagnificent 
J  be  made 
t  Christian 
Murt  ia  the 


n 


Selection*  from 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company's 

Missionary  Lists 


New  York :  is<  FUth  Atmim 
CUcano :  63  Waitdoctoii  StraM 
Toronto:  is4  YoQg*  sUMt 


"*•- '-■XMVsMMm 


i 


AMISSIONS.  INDIA, 

In  the  Tiger  Jungle. 

And  Other  Stories  of  Missionaiy  Work  among  the  TelUBUs. 

By  Rev.  Jacob  Chamberlain,  M.D.,  D.D.,  lor  37  years  a 

Missionary  in  India.    Illustrated,     ismo.  cloth,  |i.oo. 

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wey  will  never  fail  for  hick  of  enterprise.  .  .  .  The  hook  U  witlii3 
a  vivid  and  serious  portrayal  of  the  mltdon  work,  and  as  such 
leaves  a  deep  impression  on  the  reader."—  TIU  IndtMndmt, 

The  Child  of  the  Ganges. 

A  lale  of  the  Judson  Mission.  By  Prof.  R.  N.  Barkett. 
D.D.     Illustrated,     lamo,  cloth,  $1,35. 

Adoniram  Judson. 

By  JuUA  H.  Johnston.  Missionary  Annals  Series,  lamo, 
paper,  net,  15c.;  flexible  cloth,  net,  30c. 

Once  Hindu,  now  Christian. 

The  Earlv  Life  of  Baba  Padmanji.  An  Autobiography, 
translated.  Edited  by  J.  MuwiAY  Mitchbia,  M.  A.  i6mo, 
cloth,  75c. 

William  Carey. 
The  Shoemaker  who  became  "the  Father  and  Founder  of 
Foreign  Missions."    By  Rev.  John  B.  Myers.    Missionary 
Biography  Series.    Illustrated.    Twtn^-it  jnd  thousand. 
lamo,  cloth,  75c. 

William  Carey. 

%  By  Mary  E.  Farwell.     Missionaiy  Annals  Series,     lamo, 
paper,  net,  15c. ;  flexible  dotb,  net,  30c. 

Alexander  Duff. 

By  Elizabeth  B.  Vermilyb.  Missionary  Annals  Series, 
lamo,  paper,  net,  15c.;  flexible  doth,  net,  30c. 

Reginald  Heber, 
Bishop  of  Calcutta,  Scholar  and  Evangelist.    By  Arthur 
MoNTEFioRE.    Missionsiy  Biography  S<^.    illusttated. 
lamo,  cloth,  75c. 

Heavenly  Pearls  Set  in  a  Life. 
A  Record  of  Experiences  and  Labors  in  America,  India, 
and  Australia.    By  Mrs.  Lucy  D,  0$»o»i.    Ulustiated. 
lamo,  doth,  I1.50. 


<Ul 


:iiiyiiwiiw!i»ftjyjyti-wyif!^^^^^ 


{M/SS/ONS,  PERSM  AND  INDIA. 
Persian  Life  and  Customs. 

Witn  Incidents  of  Residence  and  Travel  in  the  Land  of  the 
Lion  and  the  Sun.  Bv  Rev.  S.  G.  Wilson,  M.A.,  for  15 
years  a  missior.arv  in  Persia.  With  Map,  and  other  Illus- 
trations, and  'ndex.  Second  edition,  reduced  in  price. 
8vo,  cloth,  |i.;;s. 

Justin  Perkins, 
Pioneer  Missionary  to  Persia.     By  his  son,  Rev.  H.  M. 
Perkins.     Missionary  Annals  Series,     lamo,  paper,  net, 
I  $c. ;  flexible  cloth,  net,  30c. 

Women  and  the  Gospel  in  Persia, 

By  Rev.  Thomas  Laurie,  D.D.  Missionary  Annals  Series, 
lamo,  paper,  net,  15c.;  flexible  cloth,  net,  30c. 

Henry  Martyn,  Saint  and  Scholar. 

First  Modern  Missionary  to  the  Mohammedans.  1781-1813. 
By  George  Smith,  author  of  "Life  of  William  Carmr," 
"The  Conversion  of  India,"  etc.     With  Portrait,  Map, 


and  Illustrations.     Large  8vo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  $3.00 
ioRnpby,  so  accurately  wntten,  so 
s  enthusiasm,  so  well  arranged.  '" 
and  indexed,  is  worthy  of  the  subiect."— n«  Critic, 


"  Tliis  excellent  bioRrapby,  so  1 
interest  and  contagious  enthusiasm,  so  well  a'rran 


full  of 
,  illustrated, 


Henry  Martyn. 

His  Life  and  Labors:  Cambridge— India— Persia.  By  Jesse 
Page.  Missionary  Biography  Series.  Illustrated.  Elntnth 
thousand,     lamo,  cloth,  75c. 

Henry  Martyn. 

Missionary  to  India  and  Peraa.  1781-1813.  Abridged 
from  the  Memoir  by  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Rhea.  Missionary 
Annals  Series,  lamo,  paper,  net,  15c.;  flexible  cloth, 
net,  30c. 

The  Conversion  of  India. 

From  Pantaenus  to  the  Present  Time,  a.  d.  i93>i893.  By 
George  Smith,  CLE.,  author  of ' '  Henry  Martyn. "  Illus- 
trated,    lamo,  cloth,  |i. 50. 

The  Cross  in  the  Land  of  the  Trident. 

By  Rev.  Harlan  P.  Beach,  Educational  Secretary  of  the 
Student  Vohinteer  Movement,  stk  thousand,  lamo, 
paper,  net,  3;c. ;  cloth,  50c. 


fn49^C!»$;%£^r/f«>Lnwa9E^»^r«^'vi 


iMIS$IONS.  tAPRICA. 


The  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone. 

Chiefly  from  his  unpublished  Journals  and  correspondence 
in  the  possession  of  his  family.     By  W.  Garden  Blaikie, 
D.D.,  I.L.D.    With  Portrait  and  Map.    New,  cheap  edi- 
tion.   ^08  pages,  8vo,  cloth,  i).;o. 
"  There  u  tbrougbout  the  narrative  that  glow  of  imercat  which 

w  realiied  while  events  are  comparatively  recent,  with  that  alto 

which  U  itill  freih  and  tender."— r^r  Standard. 

David  Livingstone. 

His  Labors  and  His  Legacy.  By  A.  MoNTEnoRE,  F.R.G.S. 
Missionary  Biography  Series.  Illustrated.  160  pages, 
Mmo,  cloth,  2$c. 

David  Livingstone. 

By  Mrs.  J.  H.  Worcester,  Jr.,  Missionary  Annals  Series. 
i3mo,  paper,  net,  15c.;  flexible  cloth,  net,  yoc. 

Reality  vs.  nomance   in  South   Central 
Africa. 

Being  an  Account  of  a  Joumev  across  the  African  Conti- 
nent, from  Benguella  on  the  West  Coast  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Zambesi.  By  James  Johmstom,  M.D.  With  51  ftilU 
page  photogravure  reproductions  of  photographs  by  the 
author,  and  a  map.    Royal  8vo,  cloth,  boxed,  14,00. 

The  Story  of  Uganda 

And  of  the  Victoria  Nyanza  Mission.  By  S.  G,  Stock. 
Illustrated,     lamo,  doth,  $1.35. 

'To  be  commended  aa  a  cpod,  Inrief,  general  lurvey  of  the 
rroteatant miMionar^  work  inugai  ' 

Robert  Mofl&t, 

The  Missionary  Hero  of  Kuruman.  By  David  J.  Dbane. 
Missionary  Biography  Series.  Illustrated.  2$th  thousand. 
lamo,  doth,  7$c. 

Robert  Mofiat 

By  M.  L.  Wilder.  Missionary  Anrals  Series,  lamo, 
paper,  net,  15c:  flexible  doth,  net,  .^oc. 

The  Congo  for  Christ. 

The  Story  m  the  Congo  Mission.  By  Rev.  John  B.  Mvbrs. 
Missionary  Biography  Series,  illustrated.  Tenth  thousand. 
tamo,  cloth,  79c. 

On  the  Congo. 

Edited  from  Notes  and  Conversations  of  Missionaries,  by 
Mrs,  H.  Grattan  Guinness.     lamo,  paper,  50c 


Proteatant  miMionarv  work  in  Uganda."— fi«  Lit*rary  W»rU. 


ief,  ge 
."-Tk, 


itj  0 


■Wn^err 


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AMISSIONS,  AFRICA. 


ngstone. 

Tcspondence 
DB»!  Blaikib, 
,  cheap  tdi- 

merett  which 
irith  that  alio 


u,  F.R.G.S. 
1 60  pages, 


nnals  Series, 
oc. 

Central 

rican  Conti- 
\it  mouth  of 
Vith5i  ftill- 
aphs  by  the 
1,  l4<oo. 

S.  G.  Stock. 
nurey  of  the 

ID  J.  Dbanb. 
tk  thousand. 


iries.     lamo, 


>HN  B.  MVBM. 

th  thousand. 


ssionaiies,  by 
;oc 


Samuel  Crowther,  the  Slave  Boy 

Who  became  Bishop  of  the  Niger.    By  Jesse  Paob.    Mis> 
sionaiy  Biography  aeries.    IDustrated.   Eightttnth  thous- 
and,    ismo,  cloth,  7^0. 
"  We  cannot  conceive  of  anything  better  calculated  to  ins^e 

In  the  beaita  of  young  people  an  enthuaiaaai  for  the  cauie."— TA* 

Chruiian. 

Thomas  Birch  Freeman. 

Missionary  Pioneer  to  Ashanti,  Dahomey  and  Egba.    By 
John  IVIiLUM,  F.R.G.S.   Missionar>' Biography  Series.  Illus- 
trated,    lamo,  cloth,  7;c. 
"Well  written  and  well  worth  reading."- r««  Faithful  Wit- 
nta. 

Seven  Years  in  Sierra  Leone. 

The  Story  of  the  Missionary  Work  of  Wm.  A.  B.  Johnson. 
By  Rev.  Arthur  T.  Psrsom,  D.D.     i6mo,  cloth,  9i.oo. 

Johnion  waa  a  minionary  of  the  Church  Miialonary  Society  in 
Regent's  Town,  Sierra  Leone,  Africa,  from  i8i<  to  1823. 

Among  the  Matabele. 

By  Rev.  D.  Carnbgie,  for  ten  years  resident  at  Hope  Foun- 
tain, twelve  miles  from  Bulawayo.  With  portraits,  maps 
and  other  illustrations.   Second  edition.    1  amo,  cloth,  6oc. 

Peril  and  Adventure  in  Central  Africa. 

Illustrated  Letter  to  the  Youngsters  at  Home.  By  Bishop 
Hammmcton.    Illustrated,     tamo,  doth,  ;oc. 

Madagascar  of  To-Day. 

A  Sketch  of  the  Island.    With  Chapters  on  its  History  anu 
Prospects.    By  Rev.  W.  E.  Cousins,  Misskinary  of  the 
'«~  VxMiaon  Missionarv  Society  since  1863.    Map  and  Uluv 
trations.    lamo,  doth,  $1.00. 

Madagascar. 

Its  Missionaries  and  Martyrs.  By  Rev.  W.  J.  Townsbnd, 
D.D.  Missionary  Biography  Series.  Illustrated.  Tenth 
thousand,    lamo,  doth,  7$c. 

Madagascar. 

By  Bblu  McPhbrson  Campmu.  Missionary  Annals  Series, 
lamo,  paper,  net,  15c.;  flexible  doth,  net,  30c. 

Madagascar. 

Country.  People,  Missions.  Bjr  Rev.  James  Sibrib, 
F,R.G.S.    Outline  Missionary  Series.    i6mo,  paper,  aoc. 


jljpgjlfjtf 'T'l::; 


i 


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v. 


MM 


MISSIONS,  CHINA. 


Chinese  Characteristics. 

By  Rev.  Arthur  H.  Smith,  D.D.  ,  for  3$  years  a  Missionary 
in  China.  With  i6  AiU-fMge  original  Illustrations,  and 
index.     Sixth  thousand.    Topnlar  tdition.    8vo,  doth, 


"The 


best  book  on  the  Chlneie  people."— rt/  Examinrr, 


A  Cycle  of  Cathay; 

Or,  China,  South  and  North.  With  personal  reminiscen- 
ces. By  W.  A.  P.  Martim,  D.D„  LL.D.,  President 
Emeritus  of  the  Imperial  Tungwen  College,  Peking. 
With  70  Illustrations  from  photographs  and  native  draw- 
ings, a  Map  and  an  index.  Second  edition,  8vo,  cloth 
decorated,  fa.oo. 
"  No  Hodent  of  Baiterii  aflalrt  can  afford  to  neglect  thU  work, 

which  wlU  take  iu  place  with  Dr.  WllUam'i '  Middle  Kingdom,'  aa 

an  sutborttttiTe  work  on  China."—  TA*  Outhth. 

Glances  at  China. 

By  Rev.  Gilbert  Rbid,  M.A.,  Founder  of  the  Mission  to 
the  Higher  Qasses.    Iilurtnted.     i:mo,  cloth,  80c. 

Pictures  of  Southern  China. 
By  Rev.  Jamrs  MacGowam.    With  80  Illustrations.    8vo, 
cloth,  94.30. 

A  Winter  in  North  China. 

By  Rev.  T.  M.  Morris.  With  an  Introduction  by  Rev. 
Richard  Glovir,  D.  D.  ,  and  a  Map.    1  amo,  cloth,  $1 .  $0. 

John  Livingston  Nevius, 

For  Forty  Years  a  Missionary  in  Shantung.  By  his  wife, 
Hbun  S.  C.  Nivius.  With  an  Introduction  by  the  Rev. 
W.  A.  P.  Martin,  D.D.    Illustrated.    Svo^  cloth,  fa.oo. 

The  Sister  Martyrs  of  Ku  Cheng. 

Letters  and  a  Memoir  of  Eleanor  and  Euzabeth  SAiniDiRS, 
Massacred  August  ist,  1895.    iSustrated.     ismo,  doth, 

•i. so- 
China. 

By  Rev.  J.  T.  Gracby,  D.D.  Sn$nth  idition,  revised. 
i6mo,  paper,  15c. 

Protestant  Missions  in  China. 

.By  D.  WiLLARD  Lyon,  a  Secretary  of  the  Student  Volun- 
teer Movement.    i6mo,  paper,  i;c. 


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trations,  and 

8vo,  doth, 

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fiative  draw- 
8vo,  cloth 

Icct  till*  work. 
Kingdom,'  ■• 


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h,  8oc. 

itions.    8vo, 


tion  by  Rev. 
cloth,  $i.$o. 

By  his  wife, 
by  the  Rev. 
cloth,  fa.oo. 

TH  SaUNDIRS, 

isnio,  doth, 


HoH^  revised, 
ident  Volun- 


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